Viva Naruto World!
by ThatNonMexicanMexican
Summary: ATTENTION: How many fangirl stories have you read? How many of those had OC'S? This is different. We're two Naruto fangirls with too much imagination, nothing better to do, and we're MEXICANS! Please do not read if you're racist. Oh, and major editing!
1. What the Hell's Happening?

Hi people! This overly-imaginative story is made up by two 13-year-old Mexicans that love Naruto and had nothing better to do than write this story. Please don't criticize, as this is our first story. I'm Skylynn, your first PoV!

Disclaimer: For the disclaimer we have Sasori of the Red Sand or Akasuna no Sasori!

Me: take it away Pinocchio!

Sasori: I really don't want to do this.

Me: Too bad.

Sasori: Fine, Skylynn and Sam don't have the pleasure of owning Naruto.

Sam: Oh Well….

**Chapter 1:**What the hell's happening?

"_Emo _raccoons_ are a let-down compared to hot _ravens_!_" I yell at Samantha, who pointedly ignored my index finger pointing accusingly at her. I huffed and puffed my chest, infuriated beyond belief at my supposedly best friend.

"You don't know what you're talking about, Sky," she stoically said as a certain Uchiha would. "Red heads are so much more…exotic than dark-haired suicidal teenagers."

I sigh, frustrated at her stubbornness even if I'm pretty unmoving myself."You know what, Sam? Shut up. Just shut up. Let's read some manga before you make me do something that I'll somewhat regret."I say while sitting on her bed, which is_ really _soft by the way. I wanted to bounce on the fluffed pillows, but Sam was already hogging the space, much to my annoying despair.

She just glanced my way as if to say 'whatever' and turned her head once again toward her book. That's right, _her_ book. Grab her book, even touch it and her calm demeanor will quickly turn into a raging riot. As in, get-away-or-I'll-make-your-life-miserable. Sam can be scary when she wants to be. Our months that turned to years of friendship will never change her antisocialness.

Sam glared at me through her curly bangs as I, apparently, got too close to her personal space. Never in life would you find another freak like Sam, the living health-nut. She cleans, she runs, she freaking eats _almonds!_ I have no idea how we met in the first place…

That's when I decided to quit arguing with her before she got sadistic, but that didn't mean I was done without a final comment. I headed into her walk-in closet (which she never really uses) mumbling under my breath, "Sasuke is so much stronger than Gaara…"

And that's when, ladies and possibly a few gentlemen out there, I felt a seriously drop in the temperature and ducked in case the girl with the hard-cover book had gone magical and decided to chuck said object/projectile in the middle of my forehead. But, fate, apparently, had other plans that didn't include a telekinetic, gothic girl. No, instead, my world dropped. And I mean, literately collapsed.

Walls enclosed, the many bookcases Sam owned splintered into small needles, and I found myself screaming my tongue off. In my mind, I mean. Actually, I was frozen with shock, numbness spreading throughout my body like flames eating up chucked wood. I looked at Samantha, the Samantha who's always collected and silent, and saw a reflection of me within her brown eyes. Me, a dark-skinned Mexican who doesn't know how to say even 'my name is' in Spanish.

Then I blacked out.

OoOoOoOoOo **A/C**

So! What'cha think?

Me- REVIEW PLEEZ!

Sam- Shut up, Sky. Even if this chapr=ter's short, please excuse it; the length will get better as we move along with the story.

Me- DON'T WANNA SHUT UP!

Sasori- You really should….


	2. Where am I and Why ME?

This is from my point of view, and I'm Sam. I don't care, unlike Skylynn, if you like my writing or not. I'm just bored.

Disclaimer- Do you really think I would be wasting my time writing a story like this if I owned the ever-popular _Naruto_ anime? Do me and yourself a favor if you think me and Sky own it: _Grow a brain._

**Chapter Two: **Where Am I and Why ME?

Hot. Dry. Pain.

From the moment I regained consciousness, that's all I felt. My heart thudded within my chest like a scared rabbit's. I felt the ground beneath me grainy but oddly comfortable, but that didn't help me get over my anxiousness.

You see, I'm a very calm person, and that's something I pride myself in. But this was ridiculous, or as Skylynn would say, rid_an_culous. That reminds me, where is she? By now, her loud complaints should be ringing.

I mean, I'm feeling scratched and bruised and cut in all the wrong places, so she must be too. Right?

No matter. I'm hearing a voice now. At first I think, 'Sky', but the voice converts way too manly to be hers. She's a tomboy and everything, but even a retard could tell that's a guy's voice. (no offense to retards out there)

My eyelids twitch in the manner they always do when I'm aggravated. Then I clearly make out the boy's words, and I open my eyes.

"_Huh_? Temari! I think this chick's awake!"

A rough hand grabbed my throat and lifted me with ease. I obviously gasped and, on a reflect, clawed at said hand with my abnormally sharp fingernails.

Of course, that was nothing compared to the sight of... my current captor. I felt as my eyes widen and absently thought that the action would only get more sand to settle in my pupils. Kankuro, _the_ Naruto Kankuro, stood in all his hostile glory before me. With a sneer on his face. I, close to being strangled in the air and with no idea of what to make in this situation, simply stared at him. And I mean, I _stared._

"What do you have to say for yourself, intruder?"the guy I was possibly hallucinating growled at me. He waited a second before applying more pressure in his grasp on my neck.

"What? _answe_-" He was cut off by a feminine, yet strong, voice coming from behind him, "She can't respond if you're cutting off her oxygen, dummy." Kankuro flushed in embarrassment, and then reluctantly dropped me.

As I finally got used to the pain in my neck, I turned towards Kankuro and the other girl. She had dirty blonde hair, tamed by four ponytails, and a stern gaze. I froze. Again. Why? Because Temari, mistress of the winds and shit, was there too.

...My eyes then scanned the area, which was not surprisingly a desert, to find the last sibling. I sighed in relief when I didn't spot him.

However, my outtake of air seemed to peeve the middle child and he got in my face. Literally.

"What was that! Who are you and what do you-"

"Kankuro, leave the girl alone!" Temari to the rescue, I thought while mentally grimacing. "Where are you from." That would've sounded nice if she hadn't snarled the question -no, statement- at me.

I unsteadily got to my feet, but once up I maintained my balance. I rolled my shoulder blades until I heard a satisfying pop. Both brother and sister tensed into what I guessed offense positions. I rolled my eyes toward the cloudless sky.

"Sam B, at your service," I shook my hair to get rid of the sand. "Apparently, I am now nowhere near my...village... and I must go get help from the local map store. Nice meeting you, but bye." I wanted to walk away then, but I couldn't move. Oh, the great wonders of the hateful Karma.

"Not so fast," Kankuro said. I then knew his chakra strings were holding me in place.

"Identify yourself," Temari barked at me. I sighed softly before answering.

"I'm not from here. Or anywhere else near or far. I'm a thirteen year old Mexican who doesn't look it and I like to read. I'm a 4.0 student and you probably don't know what I'm talking about. I can speak Spanish, English, and a bit of French and Japanese." I told the truth. I'm a pale, thin, brown-curly-long haired Mexican. And very smart, in my opinion.

They looked at me the way my classmates do whenever I take out a book in the middle of a school Rally. Like I'm crazy. Cruel world, thy name is social skill...

**OoOoOoOoOoA/C**

End of my chapter. Skylynn's next.

Review, don't review, whatever. Just don't whine about the story.


	3. Where The HELL Am I?

Me: We're back for chapter three. Sam and I would like to thank "Runaway-dancer" for being our first reviewer! We love you!

Sam: 'we'…

Me: Well, I love you for reviewing.

Sam: Quit talking so much...

Me: Fine. Rain on my parade why don't cha, Sam. For the disclaimer today we have…_Tobi_!

TOBI: _Yay!_

ME: _Yay!_

Sam: Idiots...

Me: Okay, Tobi, say the disclaimer.

Tobi: _Skylynn and Sam don't own Naruto and neither does Tobi_!

**Chapter 3**  
WHERE THE HELL AM I!  
Skylynns POV

Grass. I feel it poking my cheek as I try to sit up from a very uncomfortable position.

I groan out of pain, then the memories flood back. I shoot up and look for Sam with no success. And I lose it completely.

"_Where the Hell am I and why am I so cut up_?"

Hey, I was never known for being quiet.

"_She's up_!" a boy shouts what seems right by my ear. I grudgingly look at him, and then I gape like a fish out of water. Either I got knocked out or my imagination is working on overload because Naruto Uzumaki is squatting next to me. I look around to find, not a dump of a room, but a surrounding of trees. A forest, I hear Sam explain n my mind.

"You didn't have to yell, Dobe." I hear another guy say and when I look at him, I almost faint. Now, standing next to Naruto, who I'm possibly daydreaming, is _Freaking Uchiha Sasuke_! (let me clarify that I am a HUGE Uchiha fangirl)

"Did you notify Kakashi yet?" a pink haired girl asks. Sakura Haruno. I've always hated her, especially when she still drools over Sasuke instead of training. Her hairs still long, so the she's still a wannabe. I sigh. I mustn't hold it against her though; it was some Japanese guy that made her so!

"Well no..." Naruto starts but doesn't finish. "You're useless. What are you here for?" Sasuke asks and I speak up.

"Umm... I got lost!" I exclaim and all three turn to me. Uh-oh, I thought to myself, what a lame response...

"Go get Kakashi, dobe." Sasuke says and Naruto is gone in a whirl of leaves. That or my eyesight is failing me right now. "Just who are you then?" Sasuke asks as he takes a step closer to me. "Be careful, Sasuke-kun. She could be a spy!" Sakura warns Sasuke in an overly high-pitched voice. _Oh, Sky. Remember: not her fault, not her fault, not her fault…_

Sasuke simply snorts. "As if. A spy wouldn't wonder and fall unconscious so easily."

"What's the problem over here?" Kakashi asks as he spoofs in front of us. _His gravity-defying hair is awesome_!

"This girl appeared on the middle of the path, Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura informs unnecessarily. _Not her fault, not her fault…_

"I did? _Cool_!" I yell at them. Once again, I made a spectacle of myself. Spectacle...maybe Sam's rubbing off on me with the big words. And that thought is almost as scary as me being in front of a Jounin so powerful, he could Chidori my ass into the next century.

"Who are you, a civilian?" Kakashi asks in a tone that would be used for toddlers. And I know this, 'cause I babysit.

"My name is Skylynn Chiasson." I say, surprising myself by not screaming.

"What village are you from?" he asks. I get a feeling he's scanning me for some kind of fakeness in my answers, but I don't dwell on it too long. Dwell...damn Sam and her literature vocabulary...

"Umm...I come from... the village of...the _sunsets_! Where the sun is always shining!" What are you looking at the screen _that_ way for? I like sunsets, thank you very much, and I won't care if you think I'm sappy for it!

The ninja just look at me funny, but then nod uncertainly. I notice Naruto's back and on Kakashi's right. He scowls and opens his mouth to make a comment, I guess, but Sasuke beats him to it.

"Is there a village called that, Kakashi? I think she's lying."

And that's when I get up from the ground, dust myself with my hands, bow slightly at the shinobi, and turn tail to run the fastest I've ever run in my life. Unfortunately, that isn't very quick, and I'm heading towards Konoha's gates.

Maybe Sam is right, and I need to think before I act.

**End Chapter 3**

Me: _So? How was it? Huh? Huh?_

Sam: I did the editing, so I do not know what are you si excited, Skylynn...

Me: Shut it, Sam! I'm an awesome PoV!

Tobi: _Tobi is too!_

Sam: You aren't in the story, swirlface...

Me- Yet, Sam, he's not in the story _yet_!


	4. A NightmareDream

This is Sam PoV again. Like it, hate it, don't give a care….

Disclaimer- If I didn't own Naruto one chapter ago, why would I now?

**Chapter 4**_ A Nightmare/Dream

There is nothing in the world like the feeling of solitude. I should know, with an older brother twice my age and a horrible reputation. How I got that reputation is none of your business, so I'll simply tell you that I was alone at school, an outcast and a freak. I was the girl with the broom hair and the empty eyes.

Until Skylynn came along. By the way, she's in one grade below me, and I'm currently in eight grade. Do the math and you'll be able to tell in what grade she corresponds to, unless you're too stupid to do so. If so, you shouldn't be reading this, as it may be well above your comprehension level.

Skylynn's like Naruto to Sasuke to me. She's the optimistic idiot who grins for no reason, and I'm the emo kid with no friends. Except that Sky has a sarcastic streak and I shall never be popular (but that doesn't mean I'm not attractive). The roles are the same.

But that's not the point. My malapropos to this whole introduction is that I hadn't felt so truly alone in a long time until Kankuro was dragging me with his chakra strings through the streets of Suna. And the citizens were looking. And Temari was marching behind me, like a guard would do to a prisoner. And…since Skylynn wasn't here….

We finally stopped in front of a large building I vaguely recognized as the Kazekage's quarters. I took deep breaths. In. Out. Inhale. Exhale.

"We have an intruder," Kankuro announced to the sand shinobi posted on the sides of the front entrance. They looked me over and nodded briefly, then opened the humungous doors.

Kankuro roughly pulled me through, and Temari followed us.

We walked in silence, passing so many corridors and halls that I trembled to memorize. I have a good memory, but I needed to concentrate.

Temari stopped at a door with a kanji on it, and knocked with her large hands. I hadn't noticed before, but her hands were much larger than mine. Strange, I mused.

Then a deep voice sounded through the wood. "Come in…"

Kankuro pushed the hinges of the door and it gave out forward. He stepped in, and I had no choice but to follow.

'I'm about to meet the leader of Sunaga. I'm about to meet the leader of Sunaga' I kept chanting in my mind.

_'I'm about to meet the man who made an innocent boy's life a living nightmare…'_

**OoOoOoOoOA/C**

(sighs) I know it's a short chapter, but so what? I need to keep the pace between my pov and Skylynn's. Don't like it, don't read.


	5. Me and my Headache!

Me: _I'm back!_

Sam: Get to the point.

Me: (Pouts) Fine… My special disclaimer person is…..Neji!

Neji: Fate hates me….

Me: Yep! So disclaim away, destiny boy!

Neji:(twitches) Neither Skylynn or Samantha own me or Naruto

Me: _Let us begin! My PoV!_

**Chapter 5: Me and my Headache**

I'm twirling. Spin and spin and spin again. Colors seem to blend with each other, and I find myself happy. Content, smiley, joyful, happy.

And then I throw up.

As I finished my little scene, I realize that I had spit all over my chin, so I messily 'clean' it up with my jacket's sleeve. After that, I took off my jacket 'cause it had barf all over it and threw it on the ground. I purposely stepped on it, deciding it wasn't worth washing and was better if thrown away.

"_Are you crazy? What d'ya think you're doing_?" Naruto's yell penetrated my thick skull and I finally regained my senses. I turned to face the four shinobi, who were gazing at me with something along the lines of disgust and amusement, and I felt myself blush.

Well, that was embarrassing.

After I had ran from the ninja, I encountered a bit of a problem. An untied shoe. You would think Sasuke or Naruto would've caught me but, no. A foot was my downfall. Pathetically speaking. Then I had gotten up and spun like there was no next day.

Acid ran along my throat upward and forced its way out of my mouth. It stank of chicken nuggets, but you don't really need to know that. What you need to know is: it sure got Sakura shrieking.

"Oops…Sorry, I have these episodes, where I suddenly have to do something weird. They, umm, happen from time to time…heh, heh…" Smooth, I tell myself. That was smooth.

Naruto lunges at me and I cringe, but he was really jumping to my puked-on jacket. He grabs it and shakes most of the…stuff… off, and my eyebrows rise. Then I remember Naruto's an orphan and would never throw away a piece of clothing unless absolutely necessary.

I know this because Samantha lectured me about poverty to get me to appreciate what I have.

"Oh, I'm sorry! Do you want it? I wouldn't, but if you do…" Like I said, Smooth.

Naruto looks at me like I suddenly transformed into Iruka. "Really? I can keep it? Awesome, _Dattebayo_!"

I find it strangely sad that someone would be so poor to thank for a vomit-stained yellow jacket. Kakashi must've thought this too, because when he spoke he did so softer, but not in a toddler-way. More sincere, I guess.

"Skylynn, right? Are you traveling alone or did you separate from someone?"

My mind went blank before I thought, 'Yeah, I have no idea where Sam is and I'm definitely off course'. I didn't say it out loud, though.

"Ah…actually, I think a visit to Konoha would do me good. Sunset village is far too stuffy for my taste."

Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say. Kakashi's face lost it kindness and roughened. Sasuke moved to grab my right elbow, and Naruto my left. Sakura…just stood there.

"So you are lying," Sasuke hissed in my ear. "Good to know."

**OoOoOoOoOo**

Now, I don't know what I said to prove I was not telling the truth, but I had somehow managed to gain the shinobi's distrust in a hurry. I am now in a cell deep within the heart of the Leaf village and with no memory of how I got there.

This day got from bad to worse.

My hands were free, so I think they don't consider me a threat. A big mistake, I thought as I huffed out my chest in a 'manly' manor. So sue me if I'm not girly.

I look through the bars that separate me from the area out there, and I find myself alone. I don't suspect anything, so I start my escape. I mean, I'm not gonna sit here and wait 'til someone came to explain myself. I already made too much of a weakling of myself!

I pause. Weakling…that's Sam's word. _I miss her so much…_

But I don't have time for self-pity, no siree. I. Must. Get. Out. Of. Here. And find my brainy friend along the way!

The bars were made of, what I remember from one of my forced lessons with Sam, steel. This is because, and I quote, 'Steel is strong to hold the prisoners in, but cheap to buy.' Now, if I could only remember what thing to do to break out…..

**OoOoOoOoOoA/C**

Me-YAY! I'M DONE WITH MY CHAPPIE!

Sam- I did most of the work, if not all…..

Me-(Ignores Sam) I'M DONE, I'M DONE, I'M DONE!

Neji- With this chapter, yes. There are still more to write.

Me-….PARTYPOOPERS!


	6. I Don't Care at This Point

_This is just great. I_ believe there's a difference between shitting your pants and shitting yourself. Don't you?

Right now, as I moved forward toward the Kazekage's enourmous desk, I was doing the latter. Yes, I'm freaking shitting myself with all the nonsense that's bopping inside my already-populated mind!

What if I get categorized as a pussy and get sent out to die in the desert plains? What if the Kazekage, for some unexplainable reason, decides to go all _roar_ crazy on me and bites my curly head off? Or, or, what if Temari's huge hands snap close on my thin neck and _crack!_ What will I do then? Huh?

I can't believe it; I'm going senile.

The Kazekage sits on a lush chair that looks as if it could hold an elephant's weight and envelopes the man to a reduced figure. I have the sudden want to cuddle within those cushions...

"What is it?" the Kazekage asks without looking up from his paperwork. His worn hand scratches and scribbles incoherent chicken scratch that I can't believe is actually legible. His robes are specable, shadowing only under the man's unruly brown hair. I look up from his neat piles of scrolls on the off side of a cabinet and find myself confronting the golden scrutinizing eyes of the Kazekage.

So much for observation.

I guls loudly and sweat, the smelly odor drifting only into my nostrils. Kankuro grunts and replies to his father, "This foreigner was found looming aside the Gates. We believe her to be an intruder." Shiort and to the point. Temari nods her comfirmation.

The Kazekage finally gazes at us, his penetrating look boring holes into my forehead. I remember I have some zits there and quickly close my lids to avoid firther embarassment. Suddenly, just as fast as one could say "Sunagakure", Kankuro's leading me forward, right at the foot of the desk.

I glance around with my opened eyes and notice Temari stayed put alongside of the door. It was as if she was truly a guard jailing me in. I shuddered mentally, relieved beyond doubt that I was probably putting that off as my imagination. Or maybe not.

"Who are you?" that cold voice snaps me out of my thoughts. Who am I?

"I'm no one," I say. Kankuro snorts quietly behind me, and I suddenly wish to choke those words down my throat. _No one!_ Great job at making yourself look imponent and strong, Sam. As if my sweat wasn't enough of a glowing sign of "weakling"! I nodded my head to indicate I was done speaking, and the Kazekage let out a deep breath.

"Who are you?" he barked out forcefully. I wanted to shrink, dig a hole in the ground and rot there until the apocalypse of the world sighted me out of the Earth. However, I wasn't an ostrich by any traits or characteristics; I had to answer. "I'm no one."

The Kazekage thumped his fist on the desk, making a few scrolls and brushes roll onto the spotless ground in the process, but he didn't seem to care; he was glaring daggers at me. "I didn't ask that," he began slowly, as if he didn't trust his own voice," and I won't ask again. One. Two. Thr-"

"Father!" Temari interrupted his countdown. She had broken into a cold sweat and was gripping my gaunt shoulder painfully with her large hand. "Father," she calmed down a bit. "This foreigner clearly has something to hide. Let me or Kankuro guide her to Mizuka, for further interrogation, and the-"

"Was I directing to you?" the Kazekage spoke in a lower tone than before. Dangerous. Chilling, even. The wind mistress flinched a bit, but she quickly composed herself as she stood straight againdt her father's coldness. I guess she was used to it. _How sad, when a child is accostumed to abuse..._

I got over my pity towards the blond, though, when she literally pushed me against the hard edge of the desk. "No, Kazekage-sama. But I was speaking for the people of Sunagakure in handeling a threat."

"I handle threats, Temari." She shook her head, her pigtails swishing from side to side frantically. "Kazekag-" "No." She kept quiet from then on. The Kazekage turned to mr again, this time more determined to get a real response from me, and I suddenly felt an unnatural breeze jaunt the atmosphere.

"Well?" his brilliantly bright eyes looked deeply into mine. I sweated a bit more.

"I'm no one...who's lost."

**OoOoOoOoOo**

"I can't believe you got away with that, brat," Kankuro muttered distractedly at me. "I just can't believe it."

I wanted to somewhat comfort him that I couldn't believe my luck either, but I kept my mouth shut; after all, I think the Kazekage'd liked my silence. Temari was still gripping me, but not as tightly as she had been before. Kankuro was just staggering, more than a bit put out by my side.

The Kazekage, leader of Sunagakure, and Father of the Monster of the Sand, thought I was an animal expert. _Or, so I suppose._ In reality, a demented smile had creeped upon his lips as I'd told him some of my past; not including I was from a different dimension where I knew all about the future, of course. That was a no-brainer.

"I'm no one who had a life far from here in a natural area. I'm no one who only lived for agriculture and farmland. I'm no one that you know."

I'd written a similar style of the whole _'I'm no one_" anecdote for an English project, so I was pretty sure of what I'd say when I said it. This, obviously, was incredibly stupid of me ,seeing as the Kazekage was no teacher and I was by no means his pupil. This wasn't a trial and error class; here, if I messed up, I'd get a muchseverer consequense than writing a few lines in detention.

It was only until I was exiting the Kage Tower that I realized I'd gotten a "D" on that assignment.

"I can't believe it," Kankuro grumbled again. _Yeah, bud, neither can I_. Now, due to my 'past in a high rural zones', I'm off to see the only creature Sunagakure has ever had trouble from (not counting the plague of desert rats, of course) and wanted to have tamed by a wild tropical girl: Sabaku no Gaara.

I wasn going to die, one way of another.


	7. FREEDOM!

Me: THANK YOU! I bow to my reviewers, RUN-AWAY DANCER and 97CHAOSCAT! Keep writing to us and continue reading 'Viva Naruto World'!

Sam: I really did not think anybody would review…Thank you for proving me wrong, and as long as you follow with the story, I'll keep writing until the end. Even if that means staying up until 4:oo in the morning…..

Me: Wow, Sam. That's the most you've ever said to our people…I'M SO PROUD OF YOU!

Deidara- Un, aren't I supposed to disclaim now?

Sam- You are.

Me- Have a go at it, DEIDARA!

Deidara- Okay. Neither Skylynn or Samantha have any legal document saying they own us, and therefore they don't, un.

Me: WHAAA! I DON'T OWN NARUTO!

Chapter 7- FREEDOM!

I have a cup.

Beware of MY cup. It's the only thing I have in my possession since the day I've been thrown in here. Thrown like garbage, forgotten and useless. It's been…four days, I think. It's kinda hard to count, y'know, with me being in an underground cell…

Pity me.

I said I was going to escape, so at first, I tried to cut through the steel bars with my ever-useful nail file I always keep in my boot. Yeah, I keep a lot of things in my boot. Sam even taught me the word for it in Spanish. _Bota._

But, seeing as the bars are STEEL, I barely made a scratch. And I broke a nail, not that I'm complaining about it. I'M NOT A GIRLY GIRL!

I tried every single thing that popped in my mind, and I gotta tell ya, MANY things develop up there. From head-butting to trying to bend the thin poles, I failed at every single attempt. That's why I'm now sitting cross-legged in front of the cursed bars, passing my cup against them as if I was playing a string instrument or something.

CLACK CLACK CLACK CLACK CLACK CLACK

It's fun to do that. You guys should try it, if you ever find yourselves in a prison cell with steel bars and a cup.

I smile as a bright light suddenly cuts through the darkness I'm getting used to. It's my new friend, Joe, coming to greet me as he does two times a day. My smile widens as I catch sight of his floppy brown hair and his trademark wheat thingy that always hangs from his mouth.

I somewhat remember him from my TV, Hayate or Genma, but I call him Joe. He plays some roles in the Naruto show, but he's not that important, so I forget.

"Hey, Joe! What'cha bringin' me to-day? Some real food, I hope!" I yell at him even if he is, like, five feet from me. Joe takes care of my meals, if they can be called that. He brings water and bread for me to eat, every single time he comes. I HATE IT!

Yet, as I watch Joe set down the roll a couple of inches from the bar in front of me, I certainly don't hesitate to grab it. Before sinking my teeth into the pathetic bread, I put my cup as far as my arm-length can manage, and Joe fills it with H2O.

In a second, my roll's gone and I gulp my water in one go. Joe grumbles under his breath something I can't make out but is no doubt a complaint and turns to leave. However, I don't want him to leave yet.

"Hey, Joe! How far are the Chuunin Exams running along? Have they even started? When are the Sand ninjas coming? Wha-" I get cut off by Joe rapidly spinning towards me and saying in a demanding voice.

"That is confidential information the villagers, much less outsiders, haven't received yet. How do YOU know about it?"

I was confused for a whole minute before his words made sense to me. _The Sand's arrival was a secret. _ I blinked and then slapped myself. Stupid, stupid, stupid! How could I have made the mistake of revealing my knowledge? More importantly, how was I going to correct it?

Then I talked without thinking, something Sam would have my head off for sure. "I'm psychic."

…

Have you ever done something that's supposed to blow up in your face, but then saves your skin?

I just did.

After Joe suspiciously asked me questions he knew the answers to but an 'outsider' had no possible way of knowing, and I responded correctly to each one, he took a key out. THE key that held the power of releasing me of this prison. I slapped myself again, but this time because I should've done this four days ago.

He told me hold still and not to make trouble, and I was so excited of finally getting out that I didn't really think about disobeying. I was too busy bouncing to make a problem, unless you count jumping up and down one.

He tied my wrists together with a string that looked as if it could be split apart easily, but in reality was one of the toughest things I've ever touched. I didn't mind, though, as I preferred not to carry the boxes that were waiting for Joe right outside the building I was kept at. That sucker had tunnels and tunnels below it. The building, I mean, not the boxes!

As Joe mumbled something along the lines of 'Me doing Gennin work', I stood by his side, open-mouthed, and took every sight I could see of Konoha in. It was better and more lively in person than on a screen, I can tell you that.

We passed many houses, stores, and food-stands when Joe finally got all the boxes within his grasp and was ready to move on. I could tell he didn't think me much of a threat, and I rather want it to stay that way.

The citizens of Konoha hustled and worked, but a few stared openly at us. I wasn't used to being gazed at, seeing as Sam's odd person attracted more attention than my own, and I looked shyly at the ground beneath me. I can tell you honestly that not once did I trip.

I saw few shinobi, but that quickly changed as we got nearer to the Hokage Tower. It stood proudly among the village, its red color vibrating and practically demanding eyes to fall upon it. My eyes complied that unsaid order.

And then Joe got us to climb a few staircases on one of the tower's sides, at least until we came across a large, wooden door. He, with difficulty, opened said door and stepped in. I followed as he made a not- too subtle crude gesture for me to. I flipped him the bird once his back was turned.

It then hit me that I was in the Naruto world. Yeah, you would think having spent FOUR FREAKIN' days in a dark cell would've given me a clue. But no, life doesn't work that way, as neither does my brain.

Me: WHOO HOO! That's the longest chapter yet!

Sam: (yawns) It's 11:30 at night and I'm too tired for your hyperness, Sky.

Deidara: Samantha is very dedicated, un.

Me: I LOVE YOU, SAM!

Sam: Whatever, I'm going to sleep now….

Me: GOOD NIGHT!


	8. The Look on His Face

I hate to take time away from the actual story writing a disclaimer, so I'll cut the chase and say: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO.  
Sam PoV

Chapter 8: The Look On His Face

How many times, and raise your hand honestly, can you say that you've met death face to face?

I'm suddenly feeling this is exactly what it feels like, sitting across Sabaku no Gaara with a meager table separating us by a couple of feet.  
I'm still sweating, not that it's visible through my multiple layers of cloth that are by no means appropriate for this weather.

I have an intense loathe for the Kazekage right now (for making me bear this, I, mean), but I'm glad that both Temari and Kankuro  
are beside me, enduring Gaara's glare as much as I am. I really hope they shit their pants, but that's too much of a Skylynn thought for me to  
be comfortable. Having a statement like that floating through my mind can be almost as scary as being in a room with a crazy.

Kankuro, the stupid dolt, broke the tense silence by clearing his throat and declaring in a voice that made me cringe a little,  
"Temari and I are going to take care of some business, foreigner, so you take care of Lord Kazekage's orders. You'll sleep here, too, and abide by Sunaga's laws."

Stating that, the puppet master stood up from the chair to my right, and Temari wasn't hesitant to get up from my left.  
She nodded at me slightly and followed her brother out the room. Kankuro didn't even acknowledge me as he left me alone in  
the same room as his homicidal little brother. The jerk.

The door slammed closed, and I dropped my head in defeat. I didn't even glanced at the red-head as I just took out the very book I had when I was sucked into this world. It was not long before I forgot where I was and lost myself into the realm of the Demonata. That's a horror series by Darren Shan, if you care enough to be curious of my taste in stories.

I do not know how much time passed, a couple of hours or whatever ,but I didn't mind the silence that Gaara gave me. Frankly, I wasn't even aware he was there at all. That is, until I felt a presence looking over my shoulder.

I have to tell you, I'm an expert at sensing people behind me; I've had enough classmates try to read over my shoulder for a lifetime, and I hated it.

I stiffened and grounded out through my clenched teeth, "What?" before I managed to remember who was the only possible person that would be taking a peek of my book. I glanced up and let my eyes settle on the empty seat across from me. I then resembled a plank of wood by how tense I was. I kept waiting for sand to crawl over my pale skin and rob me of my heart beats.

However, if you are reading this, then it should be painstakingly obvious that I am not dead.

Yet more stillness met my question/growl that I had blurted out on a pure habit reaction.

Then, finally, "Silence."

One word, many meanings. I had watched enough Naruto to narrow down the possible outcomes of the pre-origin Gaara language and got that either he was about to make Sammy-rain drops of flesh with his Sabaku-no-Sousou, or he wanted me to shut up.

So I pressed my lips into a thin line and made as little noise possible with my breathing. Basically and literally shutting up, I almost choked from lack of air when he talked again.

"Next page."

It took me less than a third of a second to figure out that Gaara was actually interested in the sadistic demon lord that slaughters humans in a torture-influenced chess game in my book, and that he wanted to read more.

If I had liked the character in the Anime before I met him, my preference for him had just shot up a notch.

My eyebrows rose, and I smiled a small...smile. If I hadn't known better, I would've smirked.

Sabaku no Gaara liked the horror genre, and I was about to introduce to the universe another bookworm, even if it costs me my life. Which it probably will, by the way.

...

I gave Gaara my book. And he liked it.

As days passed, I kept bringing the red-head more books I'd found and borrowed from the village library. He never goes there, as I suspected, because of his infamous reputation as a monster. Not that it's wrong or anything, since he kills people simply if they so much as LOOK at him the 'wrong' way, but I guess that's partially the fault of his past.

I mean, if you would've been tried to get murdered by professional assassins at the early age of six, I think you'd be allowed to have a few screws loose in your head.

But never you mind that; Gaara loved to read. I never once saw him open the books I gave him, but I have a feeling he did when he was alone at night. He WAS an insomniac, after all. I am even a bit envious of him, getting to read without interruptions...

Every day after we first met in that room, we never said a word to each other. Nods from him and my occasional smiles were enough, I guess.

The villagers found it terrifying when they saw Gaara suddenly approach me after my visits to the library, always taking half the books I had checked out and replacing the ones he took with others he had already finished. He also always vanished in a swirl of sand, his gaunt arms heavy with paper-backs and hard-covers.

I found it amusing after I'd gotten over the fact that he knew exactly when to come to me for new stories. 'Skylynn would definitely call him a stalker if she knew...'

I sighed as I thought of my friend. I was so home-sick, too. I needed some dogs and someone who would talk to me nonstop without expecting me to answer. I had even approached a few kids my age, but once they found out I was...associated...with Gaara, they told me to leave them alone and never talked to me again.

The joy of stereotypes.

I am currently in a section in the library where they keep the common ninja techniques listed by alphabet. I was skimming the replacement jutsu when I felt Gaara looking over my shoulder. And I _knew_ it was him because NO ONE else made me feel as uncomfortable and weak as he did under his gaze. He'd picked up on my awkwardness immediately the first time I flinched, and goes out of his way to make me feel insignificant, like a...dust mite.

Yeah, we were the best of friends, don't you think so?

Except today, were in a public place where he's a little less than welcomed. Hell, I'm barely admitted here, allowed entranced only by the nice librarian who took pity of me and loves to write as much as I do. I'm even almost done with the week's report for the Kazekage.

But back to the present, I withheld my breath in a similar fashion for when I'm around the demon-vessel. He whispered stoically beside my ear, "Tell Temari that I ordered her to teach you shinobi training. Take it as my...gratitude...for giving me a past-time, foreigner."

Then he left before I could put my two-cents in and before anybody could notice he was there in the first place. I gaped like a fidh out of water for a while, and the few people that saw me looked at me funny. But I didn't care at the moment.

I turned around to face the space where Gaara had been standing not one minute ago, and I slumped by the cases holding the scrolls, making a few roll down into the floor in the process.

I could tell Gaara had been in a good mood, but not because he'd actually said a couple of sentences without threats, God forbid.

The air he had stood upon ranked of blood. And I very much doubt it was his own...

I'll admit it right in this instant, so do not call me a pussy and let me tell it like it is: I crumbled into a heap of body parts on top of all the fallen papers, my sharp eyes rolled into the back of their sockets, my mouth gave a little quiver, and I unceremoniously fainted for the first time in my thirteen and a half years of my life.

Go on and laugh it up while it still holds humor.

...

I'm done with this chapter, and before 10:00 p.m. too. I'm feeling quite proud of myself, so do not spoil it with complaining.

I'm in a good mood, too...


	9. IT'S ABUSE, I TELL YOU!

Me: WHAT! This story is beating other people crossover's BIG TIME!

Sam: Shut up, Sky. Some of those 'people' may be reading this, y'know.

Me: I DON'T CARE! I'M RUBBING THIS IN THEIR FACES!

Sam: Ignore the pea-brain, please. Also, she doesn't own Naruto, and neither does myself. If you want to comment, don't put something that will waste our time.

Sasuke: Hn. I was supposed to say the disclaimer, but it seems you did that already, Samantha.

Sam: Yeah. I did, duckass.

Me: DON'T CALL MY SASU DUCKASS!

Sam- I'll call the Kazekage an idiot if I so desire, and you can't stop me.

Sasuke: Hn.

Chapter 9- IT'S ABUSE, I TELL YOU!

'Gotta run, run, run, run, run, RUN!'

Joe's hot on my heels, but I'm sprinting like if I had blood hounds on my tail. Which, honestly, might not be so different. Anyway, I was panting like crazy, but I wasn't slowing down. BE PROUD OF MY THIGHS OF STEEL!

Nah, just kidding. If anybody has fast feet, it's Sam. She puts losers on their place on a race! Mental OR physically!

But back to ME, I was trying to put as much humanely possible distance between me and Joe, but he's persistent.

Why? DON'T ASK QUESTIONS, DAMMIT. You're not allowed to, unless they're good and I say you can!

To answer my own unhealthy, one-sided conversation, Joe wants to introduce me to the Hokage, 'Sarutobi-sama'. Now, this doesn't sound too bad, but I would have to explain my 'physic' abilities, and I have absolutely NO idea of what I'm gonna say.

If Samantha's dead, and I really hope NOT, then she would roll on her imaginary grave over my Skylynness.

"Come back here, you little vermin, and face it like a… a… SHINOBI!" Joe shouted at me, waving his arms in the air like an angry old man, his wheat thingy flying out of his open mouth.

If I hadn't been so busy trying not to trip and fall flat on my face, I might've stopped to behold the hilarious sight Joe was displaying.

Wait. Backtrack….Sam vocabulary!

In my moment of Sammy giddiness, I completely let my guard down and all I felt was my body hitting the rocky street as I was tackled by an unknown force. Curse my easily-distracted mind.

I got a mouthful of dust, along with other things I'd rather not know, much less mention. My whole body ached, and once I had spat all soil that had sat on top of my tongue, I yelled as loud as I could with my exhausted lungs,

"WHO THE FUCK JUST USED ME AS A FOOTBALL TARGET!"

I don't need to tell you I got weird looks from nearby villagers.

I didn't get an answer, though, as whoever that was on top of me simply stood up and dusted himself/herself off. Pricks.

I painfully rolled to face my current archenemy, and discovered that 'they' were HYUUGA F*** NEJI!

(Insert gasp with a slapping sound)

To say I was surprised is the major understatement of the day, because if I say year, I'd be lying. Hey, there's been some serious understatements the last couple of chapters, am I right? So, day it is.

A gazillion thought buzzed through my mind and, to name a few, I was wondering why in the two worlds was Hyuuga Neji doing in a poor avenue of Konoha, when had he even arrived, and what ever had _possessed _him to push me into the ground!

Then I noticed it: He. Was. Smirking. The arrogant bastard!

I didn't think it. I didn't plan it. IT just happened. I slapped a very taken back blind-eyed, stick-in-the-ass prodigy in the cheek. And if THAT stung my fingers numb, there is no words to describe what said ninja felt.

So what if I hit him when he was least expecting it? So what if he had no idea who I was, or if I was even a shinobi? I hadn't known who tackled me, so it was fair and square!

Joe spent the next half an hour trying to hold back a very angry and pride-broken Neji from gentle fist me into a fleshy pulp.

….

"BY THE POWER OF YOUTH, I SHALL ACCEPT THE MISSION, LORD HOKAKE! AND IF I FAIL IT, THEN I SHALL HOOP AROUNFD THE VILLAGE IN MY LEFT FOOT A THOUSAND TIMES! IF I FAIL TO DO THAT, THEN-"

The deep, booming voice of Maito Gai got interrupted, thankfully, by the leader himself. The room breathed a sigh of relief. Literally.

After my little scene with THE major ass of the Naruto world, Joe had dragged both me and the prick to the humungous, red Hokage tower. Of course, where there is darkness there is light, as Sam always says. Except in this case, where there is narcissism (cough-Neji-cough) there is… youthfulness.

It turned out that Team Gai had just returned from a mission and Neji, with his Byakugan and all, had spotted me running away from Joe. He, seeing where I was headed, had cut me off and 'had to turn in the pest' by ramming into me and therefore stopping my sprint.

His words, not mine.

Anyhow, THE HOKAGE'S OFFICE IS AWESOME!

It's big and has REALLY tall windows where one could thoroughly see the whole freakin' village!

Whoever the architect was, kudos.

By the time Joe had rounded me up and Team Gai, who of all I especially liked Tenten, my brain had worked itself on overdrive and went completely blank. Go me, right?

They were all looking at me expectantly now, so I assumed Joe had told them about me and my special powers!

If only they were real…

"Ah…Skylynn, correct? Now, I need you to tell us about your abilities and, more importantly, where you come from so I can arrange and put in place this whole mess. Do you understand?" the old man said slowly to me, as if I had a mental problem and then some.

I was mad that he'd think that, but then I remembered who I was, and WHERE I was, so I nodded shyly.

Don't look so shocked, now. Skylynn Chiasson has her timid moments, just as Samantha B. has her sadist ones. And, yes, it's Sam B. because her last name is too hard to pronounce and write.

Back to me again, I stated quietly what I do every time I find myself in awkward situations: I lied through my teeth.

Me: NANANANANANANANA NA BAT-MAN!

Sam and Sasuke-…

Me: What? I like the bat-man theme song….

Sasuke- I hope I don't meet you in the story.

Sam- you already did. And this is my so-called 'best' friend I have to talk to on a regular basis.

Me: YOU LOVE ME!

Sam-…Tell yourself that, Sky, and maybe it'll come true one day.

Me: (ignores Sam) THANK YOU RUN-AWAY DANCER AND I LOVE YOUR IDEA OF VIRTUALLY STRANGLING SOMEONE! Now, I'm gonna need help convincing Sam to put that in the story…..

Sasuke: She does DO all the writing here, so if you like the story, thank Sam for the plot and Skylynn for the funny words….hn.


	10. Hateful Words

I am ecstatic. And it takes A LOT to make me feel as such. I want to thank all of those who took the time to click on the 'review' icon, and type a worthy comment to us, and show them that under all my pride, I am grateful.

So…there.

Now let me shove it back to keep face, and continue on with the story. This is the longest pre-word I've written (in my PoV) and I do not plan to make it a habit.

Chapter 10- Hateful Words

Do you care to know how to say 'shit' in Spanish? I don't really care, but that's the word I kept repeating in my mind as Temari waved her weapon fan and a more-than-slight current of air shot me into the sand dunes. I landed with a loud thud, by the way.

After I had been driven into unconsciousness by the fearful force known as Gaara, the nice librarian had taken pity of me. Again. And she actually took the effort of finding 'Temari-sama' and bringing her to get me.

My pride took a low blow, not counting how I doubled over with pain as yet another attack sent me on my knees. I beg of you to have thought that I meant a stomach wound, not THE place not-to-be-named. I remind you, I AM a female.

As I got thrown like a rag doll all over the desert, I kept thinking of how pathetic I looked. It reminded me of my solitary time at school without Skylynn at my side. That did the trick, and I got so infuriated, my mind stopped thinking and adrenaline pulsed like an awakened heart in my own.

I stood up what felt like the thousandth time, and my body shook with the memories that overwhelmed my normally cool head.

_ "Broom hair, broom hair, get back to the stink, wetback!"_

Temari had given me some kunais, a few shurinken, and my own personal choice: a pair of short, curved blades that were easy to hold, but hard to throw. I have very bad aiming, so close range it has to be. I have absolutely no idea of how she got her hands on them, but I knew that they were in mine now.

"_Too slow, chicken legs!"_

I ducked and rolled to avoid her next attack. I bit my tongue in frustration when I realized she wasn't even trying. I needed a way to make her come closer to me and to ditch the fan. I needed a plan. If only I were Shikamaru…

"_Come closer…closer…NOT THAT CLOSE, YOU RETARD!"_

I wasn't going to make it if I kept going on defense. I was wasting my time. However, if I ran and threw a few distractions, maybe….But that's stupid. Her fan would reflect me and, how was I supposed to sprint on sand? I was clumsy by simply taking steps.

_ "Leave her alone, you DICKHEADS!"_

I sighed slightly and acted on a whim. I charged, like a bull does when a **toredo **waves a red flag on their horns. Temari smirked and changed her offense position to meet me. She never did.

"_Hey, you okay?_ _Ignore them. They suck!"_

My soccer years in Mexico paid off. Before I was five yards in front of her, I dropped one of my blades and threw it at her head along with a kunai. They missed by a long shot, but she followed them with her eyes for a brief second. A very appreciated brief second. My right leg swung back, and I kicked with all my strength the small dune in front of me, right at the exposed face of Temari.

"_I'M SKYLYNN, BUT YOU CAN CALL ME SKY!"_

She moved her fan to cover herself a moment too late. The grains embedded into her pupils and she cursed a word I would love to mention, but for the sake of my tortured-by-teeth tongue, I'll refrain. I took the opening and brought my right blade toward her fan. It ripped a couple of inches as the curve met its body.

_ "Sky…lynn..?"_

I allowed myself to drift backwards, but the wind mistress wasn't done. I took a hit on my thighs as she head-butted her weapon at me. Then her reddened eyes widened, and she stopped her assault.

"_YEP! Nice to meet'cha…um.."_

I fell without grace on my ass, my legs aching worse than when I had gotten a round kick I my shins back then. I had never experienced so much physical pain before, so it was no surprise when my eyes watered a bit. I wasn't going to show Temari this, though, so I told myself to suck it up.

"_Samantha…my name is Samantha…"_

Temari leaned down on me, and for a second, it looked like she was going to burst out laughing. And she did, but told me between gasps for breath, "You got guts, kid. And you're not afraid to cheat!"

"_COOL! LET'S BE FRIENDS!"_

I didn't think I had cheated, but my mouth was hurting too much to say so out loud. I tasted copper with my buds, and I have no doubt my bitten tongue was the cause of the flowing blood. Whether she was making fun of me or not, I was too exhausted to care.

"…_You're a peculiar person, Sky-lynn…"_

Kankuro suddenly appeared in my line-sight, his face one of grudging respect, although contaminated by the unmistakable glitter of amusement in his eyes. I closed my eyes then, not noticing the color red that hovered by Temari's shoulder, and I fell asleep.

"_I don't know what that means, but I'll take it as a good thing!"_

…..

This is not my longest chapter, but I felt if I added more it would ruin the whole point of the scene. Review if you want.


	11. Not Abuse, It's TORTURE!

Me: HELLO AGAIN, MY FAITHFUL READERS! IF YOU'VE COME THIS FAR, THAT MEANS YOU RULE!

Shikamaru: Meh. Troublesome…we already have Lee and Gai hollering. It's not necessary for you to yell.

Me: I'LL SCREAM IF I WANNA! PINAPPLE HEAD!

Shikamaru- (sighs) This is why Haruka Munashii thinks the story needs work….

Sam: She hasn't read the whole story yet, and hasn't written any stories of her own. Yes, if Haruka Munashii is reading this, I don't accept critics from hypocritical people, even if you don't consider it a flame. When you have a story to show, and it doesn't 'need help' like you so believe mine does, then comment. If not, do not waste my or your time. Alas, this 'character bashing' doesn't exist here; it's Sky's personality and therefore important to the reader.

Me: WHOO, SAM!

Shikamaru: No offense, or anything, but to form an opinion, you need stop being ignorant and actually reason out why the pre-words are here, and not in Sam PoV.

Me: YEP!BUT NEVER MIND THAT! To the rest of y'all, keep reviewing as the story grows! I love to read your non-biased comments! And don't worry, if you have the background to…back up a flame, we won't tell you off!

Sam: I did not tell Munashii off, I merely told her to get her facts straight. It is a challenge to write a 'self-insert fic' and I took it. It's not overrated if it's well-written and has a good plot.

Me: SUUURREE….

Shikamaru- Let's just get on with it

Chapter 11- Not Abuse, It's TORTURE!

How was I to know that when Gai had spoken (yelled) about having an 'honorary' mission, he meant that the Hokage (damn him) had assigned HIM as my shinobi mentor?

That's right. When I was ordered to do 100 LAPS 360 degrees around Konohagakure to 'warm-up'!

I can barely do one….

Not that the psycho wearing the green spandex paid any attention to that little detail. What's worse, though, is his little mini-me was 'encouraging' me while circling over and over the WHOLE village and then catching up to my side.

It was humiliating. And that's a Sammy word!

By the end of the first lap, I was panting like a dog. An overly worked, hot-skinned dog. "Kill me now and make it stop…"

It was a relief when Tenten came with food while calling out for a break. I swear I was a hair-thick away to kissing her. We, as in Gai, Lee, Tenten, and myself, sat beside the three logs in the training grounds where Team 7 were first tested by Kakashi.

We were munching lunch in a historical landmark, I thought proudly. I also got the hang of using chopsticks pretty quick. I LOVE THEM! I really wonder why America doesn't use them….

"After our rest, we should begin with Skylynn-san's taijutsu techniques, Gai-sensei," Lee said, for once, thoughtfully. I actually liked his voice without an exclamation mark…..

Gai opened his mouth, no doubt to declare his acceptance, but Tenten beat him to speaking.

"No, Lee. It's obvious the girl never had any physical training before, and she would pass out at your pace. She should work on a genjutsu or ninjutsu. Neji could teach her," she hastily added once she thought of her teammate's specialty.

I minded this, but I also minded Gai as my teacher.

"But I don't want to work with-" Tenten can sure give glares, because she cut me off with a look that could rival Gaara's. Or not quite, but you get what I mean. She shrugged as if she just didn't give me a death promise if I didn't cooperate, and then stood up.

The rest of us followed quickly, not wanting to get on the weapon mistress's bad side.

"RIGHT! Tenten, you go get our youthful companion, Neji, and I shall brief in Skylynn on her future training!" Gai barked in his deep, 'manly' voice. "LEE! I am sure Kakashi and his 'hip' teaching will help Neji demonstrate ninjutsu. IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO BRING HIM AT ALL COSTS!"

While Lee nodded enthusiastically and I stared, Tenten shook her head impatiently and muttered under her breath," Yeah, or you want to 'challenge' Kakashi-sensei again…" Then she took off, a blur in my eyes, and it wasn't long until Lee did so too.

It was Gai and I who were left standing in the fresh breeze under the cloudless day, alone.

Help me!

As I was contemplating suicide, Gai got a sparkle in his eye that I by no means liked. I was scared. Deathly, ungodly, afraid. Sam, where are you when I need you to protect me with your gothic, freaky look?

Gai soon announced by my ear his thoughts," Skylynn! Your youthfulness should be used to your extreme! As Neji shows you ninjutsu, I would be honored to teach you the splendid wonders of hard work!

I just stood, not really understanding what he meant as he continued his ever-lasting rant.

" And I shall be an example to show you the way of our shinobi! We-" I tuned the rest out, twirling one of the pair of chopsticks between my fingers from our lunch. I was kinda good at passing the wooden stick between my hands. Seriously, since they aren't the longest or skinniest around, like Sam's, I think I'm doing an awesome job of actually making those things move.

As I was having fun with my new found talent of circling a chopstick, I didn't notice how Gai had stopped talking. Or how Neji and Tenten had appeared, literally jumping in front of us. Or how Lee had ran in the clearing, followed at a much slower and tranquil pace by the copy-nin of Konoha.

I was having the best time ever, just having an Asian eating utensil dancing on the palms of my hands. Twirl, twirl, twirl.

It was not long before I started twirling too. My normally clumsy body just swung as I threw my chopstick into the air and caught it. WHEEE!

It was only when I was too dizzy to stand did I fall on my ass and looked up the ninja that had witnessed my Skylyness. Or as Sam would sneer to me when we're alone, 'they witnessed my Nonmexican Brownie self…."

If you actually paid attention to that last sentence, Sam and her fluid Spanish, porcelain skin, and thin body (anorexic, I tell you!) is the complete opposite of my only language (English!) ,traditional dark tone, and wide hips (I'm NOT fat!). I really have no idea how we're friends, but I'm guessing that opposites really do attract.

Anyway, I'm straying from the fact that I'm being stared at. Again. God, this sucks.

I hold my chopstick in the way a starving man holds a loaf of bread and I blush. And I mean, I BLUSH. My face turns the color of Sam's flushed cheeks when she finishes a lap in a track field, and I gotta tell you, her white skin really makes a nice contrast of the beet red. But I feel heat spreading on ALL my head, not just the cheeks.

Kakashi smiles, or at least his mask shifts upward in a curve, and Neji narrows his blank eyes. Gai and Lee get a glossy look in their own eyes, and they beam proudly at me. Tenten just shakes her head but smirks slightly.

I'm confused, and I'm pretty sure you are too.

Then, Kakashi announces in a relieved voice, "Well, it seems I don't have to hold you to any tests to figure out your strengths or even if you have any. Tenten will work with you, seeing as her own abilities match yours." Then he poofed out of here in the white smoke that always appears when he leaves.

I still didn't get it, and Neji walked up to the very subject of the Jonin's brief speech, and whispered in her ear something. He glared at me after, and turned to walk straight away from us. It looked like he had a stick up his butt, but I didn't dare yell 'Butthead' in case Gai couldn't make it in time to save me. I had to be satisfied by simply chanting it in my mind, so drats.

"YOSH! Tenten, you are now with an apprentice, therefore I expect you to do your best and teach her as I taught you! Your youth will make a shinobi out of Sylynn, Tenten!" Gai pumped an arm upward and stuck out his thumb. His teeth glittered and I found myself closing my eyes to avoid the blinding glare. When I opened them again, both Sensei and pupil were gone.

Tenten looked me over as if examining my very soul (wow, that sounded Sam-ish), and then she nodded. "Throw that chopstick at me."

I blinked my eyes a couple times, wondering if I'd heard her right, but she seemed to be anticipating SOMETHING from me, so I did. And it went flying out of my hand, whizzing past her left hair bun. She smiled.

I got it then.

"YOU WANT ME TO BE A WEAPON PERSON!"

Then I got hit in my forehead with a small pebble Tenten had chucked at me. That was gonna leave a mark in the morning…

"You twist your wrist in the right position naturally, but the force you impulse is weak. Frankly, you're as strong as a pre-Genin ninja, but you have a good aim." She was laughing at me. And I couldn't do anything about it.

I pouted and she grinned a scary grin. I had a feeling she was going to be worse than Gai, and I felt like crying. So I did.

…

Me- SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG TO UPDATE!

Sam- Track is coming up.

Me- SOO? You said you were dedicated!

Shikamaru- (grumbles) Troublesome

Me- AnyWAY! I'd like to thank all the reviews and run-away-dancer especially for staying with us! We appreciate the critics and hope to hear more from you!

Shikamaru- Also, to amaranteotaku, TOREDO is the person who taunts the bull with a red cloth during a traditional Mexican 'corrida de toros'. That means bull-run, which is very popular in Latin countries, like Mexico or Spain.

Sam- Those were my flashbacks last chapter.

Me- And I think that all of you who are interested in doing your own Naruto insert fic, GO AHEAD! Like Sam said, it's a challenge and it's fun to write!


	12. However Hard It is, We Suck It Up

It's Sam again. I do not own Naruto.

However Hard It Is, We Suck It Up

_The end is near, an apocalypse rising within the shadows of the alleys. Demons crawl on their hands, begging for flesh, and screams sound throughout the streets of my dreams. A wrenching cry gets the hold of my attention in this chaos of a world. It is a small child, cradled by the arms of darkness. _

_ It looks at me as if I could save it from the hands that are enveloping it. It looks at me as if I were its only hope. Its widened eyes stare at me, and I feel as if I were chocking on the air from the intensity of those lonely depths that pool in the child's pupils. I can't breathe and I'm scared. _

_ It opens its mouth, as if to say a request, but instead of words, a blackness spreads in my vision._

_And then I'm dying. I'm dying with fear and a sense of loss deep inside my rationality. I'm dying with hate for whoever's fault it is of having that child out without a mother's protection. I'm dying with sadness of the knowledge of never seeing my own family, my own friends, my people who care of what happens to me when I don't come home. _

_ I'm dying alone, and the loneliness is mutual between the child and myself._

I wake up gasping and soaked in sweat. My heart, doing jumps and skipping beats in the way of near combustion, seems to suddenly stop as I watch a face in front of mine. I pull my eyes away from his, and then sob.

I no longer care if they see me cry. I feel horrible, like in the days where I had just come from Mexico to the United States. It takes a few seconds to get the home-sickness and dread away from my clouded mind, but I eventually do. And then I take a deep breath.

When I look up to see if the boy was still there, I am surprised to acknowledge that he is.

Who is this boy? Is he the same as the child in my nightmare? I do not know the latter question's answer, but the boy is Sabaku no Gaara. And he is standing over me, a couple of inches of empty space separating our noses.

I wonder briefly how that's possible since I am on a futon in the ground of a small room, but then I remember he is a sand user, and can use said matter to hold him in place. I shake my head and a few strands of hair come loose from my pony tail. They flick my feverish face and then curl back on top of my head.

Gaara doesn't react, his arms folded across his chest like they always do in the show. His stoniness vexes me, but I don't show it.

I know that I'm covered in sweat when I lick my lips nervously and taste salt. It's disgusting, but I'd rather the bitterness compared to copper. Which, if my teeth are as sharp as ever, is not that far from exploding from my gums.

Gaara tilts his head to my right ever so slightly, and I wonder for a second if I imagined the movement. It isn't likely that it was a fragment of my imagination, mostly because now his eyes strayed closer to mine. He was glaring at me.

I would've gulped had I not been aggravated in the first place and, frankly, the dream had given me a fright that made Gaara's glower seem weak. Kind of. What happens inside a human's mind is most definitely an either miracle or stupidity. I vote on stupidity once my head made up it's mind without my consent.

I glared back.

And this wasn't me just narrowing my eyes, no. This was my signature stare that I use to scare little children away from me when they want to touch my hair. This was the look that I gave when the student body picks on me when Skylynn's not there. This was my ultimate rivalry to meet Gaara's open dislike.

And then I gulped, but, fortunately, it was too soft to actually hear if you were not in my personal space. Unfortunately, the boy with the demon inside of him was. And I'll be damned if he hadn't heard it.

We stood, or rather sat, very, very still for what seemed like a century. Then, without any warning, he vanished.

I slumped my shoulders once I was sure he had truly gone. I stretched my stuff arms and found a crumpled cloth gripped within my clenched fist. I slowly opened my fingers one by one and let the soft fabric be completely exposed.

"_Filled"_

Once spread fully in my palm, the squared, opaque cloth held a circle in the middle. At the center of said circle, the word 'filled' was written in a child's handwriting. It was a crude picture, as if someone might have been given ink and they had sprawled the image with a raw stick.

I shook my head again, appalled by not only the message, but by the giver's purpose.

…

"Again."

That was the order I was given every time I collapsed from my straining muscles. It was an intense training that apparently all Genin worked through. Kindly led by my favorite tutor, Kankuro, the sit-ups, push-ups, squats, and many more exercises that are too long for me to just get on with the point, were 'warm-ups for the real thing'. I was lucky my cloth of the morning hadn't gotten lost, yet, with all the to and fro.

I don't mean to brag or get arrogant, but I believed I had a good physic status and could do anything you throw at me. However, that didn't count while using what the puppet master calls 'chakra bonding.' To put it simply, you have to do routine exercises while balancing your energy throughout your body.

It's much harder than it sounds, as it makes the saying 'Feel the Burn' seem meek and useless. I was close to giving up, but I wasn't about to give Kankuro a reason to smirk. I...I wouldn't use the word 'hate'….but I greatly disliked him, and I think the feeling is the only thing shared between the two of us. I liked him better in the Anime, but I guess that in real life and on T.V are very different things.

He was enjoying my discomfort, and it aggravated the hell out of me.

Temari showed up a few hours, which seemed like days, later, and by then I was a pile of skin and bones doing forced jumping jacks. She didn't show me compassion or sympathy, just stood beside her brother and relieved him from his 'post' of watching me. He looked a bit reluctant to leave, but ended uo shrugging like it was no big deal. The bastard.

Temari, after Kankuro left, decided to have me sitting cross-legged to focus my newly-found chakra into basic jutsus. I'm a quick learner, so I finished the easy ones like shadow clones and transforming in a couple of hours. I was even praised by on-going citizens of being a prodigy.

It was the hard stuff like climbing along a wall upright that got to me.

What? I am no Sakura, who managed first in her team, or Naruto, who had trouble on dopplegangers.

I am a Mexican who knows too much for her own good while at the same time shines with ignorance. And do not ask me how that makes sense, for it just does….

It will take a few days…and I will have to ask Temari where was the room where I was assingned to last night, for not only my aiming falters, but my sense of direction, for the lack of a better word, sucks.

And I'm hungry….damn my flat stomach….I need food.

….

End of chapter.


	13. Sombra

Me-Hello, people with good taste! I'd like to start this pre-word with a bow. THANK YOU ALL! It has been a great feeling reading every dawn and every dusk your precious reviews and OMG! I'M TURNING INTO SAM!

Sam- Just because you, by off chance, mention 'big words', does not mean you are anyway like me….

Sakura- Samantha and Skylynn don't own Naruto. Or me. Or Sasuke-kun.

Me- Is your hair short yet?

Sam- That's irrelevant to the story. I must apologize for the length of each chapter. It is not my intention, but, somehow, they always end up short.

Me- YEAH! Let's move on now. MY CHAPPIE!

Noche

Tears taste like salt. I say this in case you've never licked your cheek after you cried yourself so much, that people have mistaken you for a giant baby. WAIL!

Let it be known that I don't care if YOU think I'm a wuss, after all, I'm allowed to be one, especially since I just learned taijutsu from a rabid kunoichi! A very strong and forceful kunoichi, by the way. And, yes, I'm talking about Tenten.

The good thing within all this training/torture is that I'm powerful now!

Or, at least I can stick a kunai in a log.

The Hokage has given a mission to Tenten and her team, so now, I get a break! Kind of.

Joe, or more appropriately said, Genma, which I found out through a conversation between him and Gai, is in charge of me. More like baby-sitting, pfft. Genma and his stupid wheat-thingy hanging from his mouth simply go around the village doing chores. Meaning: he walks around the village making ME do his chores. He even says that he's 'supervising my stamina'.

As if Lee didn't do enough of that.

So I ran. Again. From Joe/Genma. I think it's going to take a while getting used to calling him by his real name….

Anyway, he came after me, but my running laps under Gai's orders paid off. I sprinted with all my might, almost stopping my breathing, and Genma soon gave up. I know he could've caught me, but I guess the mangas don't mention how lazy that Jonin can be!

I finally resumed walking at civilian pace whenever I saw a familiar sight. The noodle restaurant that Naruto always goes to was RIGHT THERE! I've been here for some weeks, but I'd never seen such an important place in the Naruto world…

Pinch me!

My stomach suddenly growled, and though I didn't have any money, I figured I could put the bill on Genma. After all, he was the closest thing to my 'guardian' here.

The wonderful smell practically made me float toward the nearest seat, aromas of the cooking ramen filling my nostrils and making me drool a little. I happily nodded at the pld man behind the counter and made my order for pork and beef. Hey, I like my meat!

Once the HUGE bowl arrived by Ayame's gentle hands, I picked up the chopsticks and screamed "THANK YOU FOR THE FOOD" mostly because I have no idea of how to say it in Spanish, much less Japanese.

I slurped my noodles rapidly, a constant flow of food reaching my lips and going down my throat. The old man and Ayame smiled at my antics, no doubt seeing the blonde head of Naruto in my place.

I hadn't noticed anything was off until I heard a low whine. I looked from side to side, confused beyond the top of my ramen, wondering where the heck the sound was coming from. Then I heard the animalistic whine again, and it occurred to me to look down. So I did.

And my eyes were laid upon the cutest, most fluffy dog EVER!

Or not quite, since some of its fur was missing in patches. He also seemed under-fed, dirty, and didn't have a collar visible for my sight to take in. Other than that, his grayish coat was kinda matted, but looked to be an almost-sterling shade were it not for the mud clumped in small bits.

It whined yet again and I couldn't resist but to give it some of my pork and beef. It hungrily chomped down on the dried strips and looked back up expectantly at me once it swallowed. I gave it some more.

This went on until I had an empty bowl in front of me and the mutt at my feet laid his massive head on his equally big paws. It sighed contently and began licking its claws. I bet it was nice and satisfied, having eaten MY food!

Thus time I sighed and atood up awkwardly as to not disturb the mutt's comfy-looking position. I gave the old man a meek smile and told him, "Genma'll pay. Just tell him my name, Skylynn, and he'll understand."

He nodded in understanding his head, but didn't look up from his steaming pots. Ayame was the one who gave me wink and shooed me away from the stand playfully with her hands. I was able to get back on the streets, but soon noticed the great mastiff following me. His tongue rolled out of his snout, dripping saliva into the ground. Trotting behind me with a cheery air, the mutt looked as if he was my pet, rightfully accompanying me on a stroll.

I walked faster, a bit creeped out. And can you blame? I mean, HELLO? Giant, grayish mutt going after me, PEOPLE!

My accelerated pace didn't face it, though, and it, which I found out to be a 'he' once I glance backwards, simply gained speed to match mine. I was determined, too, so I ran into corners, skillfully avoiding crashing with citizens. He still followed me.

I gritted my teeth, for the challenging dog had just met his race of the day!

…..

CRASH!

I saw white. I was later found by an unknown person in an alley.

How?

Well, ladies and gentlemen, the great Skylynn Chiasson evaded capture, but a dead-end made her collide merciless against hard brick. I bounced off said wall, landing on my back, the mutt gracefully making a seat out of my stomach. OUCH!

I refused to open my eyes for hours after, making the unknown person carry somewhere. I KNOW! Having a stranger bring you to an even stranger place ISN'T smart! But, in my defense, I was never described with a brilliant intelligence…

Once I DID 'wake', I was at the foot of a three-step stairwell, looking around while gaping at the HUGE compound surrounding me. Then I felt a weight that was not mine in my abdomen, and there was the mutt, looking as content as when I had given him my pork.

I made a face at him and I swear he made one back, but then I felt someone else beside us. One glance up and I found myself face to face with sunglasses. I gasped dramatically and my mutt whined. Yeah, he's MY mutt!

Shino Aburame raised an almost hidden eyebrow and he pushed himself back. At his right, the owner of this 'magnificent' place fidgeted nervously. HINATA!

So this is the Hyuuga empire, I thought while shifting my eyes in search of a long haired prick. I didn't find Neji, thankfully, and I remembered he was on the mission that gave me my limited freedom.

Hinata and Shino didn't speak, but I heard an obnoxious voice behind me. My dog growled slightly, but calmed down when the owner of said voice came in view. Shaggy brown hair, tan skin, and two upside down triangles declared the presence of Kiba Inuzuka. A ball of light fur on top of his hoodie indicated that Akamaru was also here. I almost squealed with joy whan I saw the tiny canine. I loved him!

"Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged in…" Kiba's fangs showed in the sunlight. "I am no cat, Kiba." Shino drawled out quietly. It must've been him who found me, probably looking for bugs, I observed from the implications.

"K-kiba-kun, Sh-shino-kkun, pl-please. Skylynn-san is G-gai- sensei's p-pupil. We m-musn't fight in f-front of her…." Hinata's stuttered, calming down Kiba. Shino was already tranquil, so it made no difference to him.

My mutt nudged my hand and I was forced to pet him. Kiba noticed and soon called on it, "Neji didn't mention the foreigner had a dog…." He spat out Neji's name, so he probably likes the guy as much as I do, but I still answered his indirect question.

"Umm…yeah, I just…adopted…him from…somewhere," I said SMOOTHLY. Kiba gave a look of disbelief, so I added hastily somewhat convincingly, "His name's Sombra!"

Sam taught me that Spanish word, saying it meant 'shadow.' I guess my brain tracked the mutt's color and connected it with a shadow's….shade. I was rushed to answer, don't look at me or the screen that way!

Kiba finally nodded, if a bit uncertainly, and Akamaru bounced a little along his head. Shino was just emotionless to the point that I got a bit worried for him, and Hinata played with her fingers.

My mutt, now called Sombra, closed his amber eyes and let his head fall in my laps. I continually stroked him, thinking about my next meal….

Me- I got sombra! Yay, my MUTT!

Sam- There. That's your special technique.

Sakura- A dog is a jutsu..?

Me- NOPE! Sombra will help me fight, like Akamaru does to Kiba!

Sam-I really hope that isn't too unoriginal, but Sky insisted on having a dog…..

Sakura- Review, please!


	14. One Final Stop Before I Go OCC

Sam PoV. Do not worry; the Chunnin Exams are not far from occurring.….. For your patience, I shall reward you with a special PoV within my chapter.

One Final Stop Before I Go OCC

How much time do you think one spends pondering over a squared shaped cloth with a badly-drawn circle in the middle? Well, it depends of how much one is obsessed with such object. One person, like me, staring endlessly at the word 'Filled', looses a few neurons in the process of figuring out what it means. If it even means anything….

And having almost no food didn't help my thinking. All I was 'allowed' to eat was dried fruit and dried meat. Basically, raisins and beef jerky, all choked down with a bit of water. After a track meet, I usually wolfed up half a casserole of tortilla soup, so I was nowhere near satisfied!

Temari had already went I don't know where whenever I was eating, if it can be called that, and I was left alone to do whatever I pleased for the rest of that afternoon. As long as it was within the village of Sunagakure, I mean. Wouldn't want to upset his royal highness (Kazekage), now would we?

So I haunted the streets of said hidden village. Civilians who recognized me from my library trips and my association with Gaara stayed clear of me, and others who had seen me train but by no means knew of my 'friendship' with the demon vessel smiled forcefully at me. Those who had absolutely no idea who the shit I was simply stared at my weird hair.

I had no problem with this.

I ignored them altogether, the cloth clenched loosely in my right hand, still pondering…..

….. 0000000000000000000000000000…..

_Step. Step. Step._

That was the third time the foreigner had circled the building I was perched upon. She had a bored look on her face, her strange hair pulled tightly in a band to keep its warmth away. Her fragile hands dug deep in her pockets, she reminded me of a few shinobi who have had the responsibility to watch me.

The only difference was that they were dead; she was not.

I held the first book she gave me on that room, the same story which was so unlike mine, yet had the same concept. I wonder why I did not kill her. 'Maybe she is not worth it…'

_Step. Step. Step._

I could not stop looking at her. She has something…something NOT right…I just cannot put my finger on whatever is wrong with this girl. She is distracting me of my upcoming mission to Konoha. And that is unacceptable.

The Kazekage (for I refuse to call him Father) ordered her to keep an eye on me, seeing she was somewhat of a specialist with 'animals', but she has not been doing her job. I come and go as I please and not once have I caught her following me. She does not even acknowledge when I step in front of her when I retrieve my books. Just…holds them out for me.

I do not get it, but I accept it. Maybe I even appreciate it, but I do not know…

The foreigner suddenly stops but she does not turn around. I believe someone has called her. And, yes, a group of kids somewhere around our age confront her in front of me. Not that they are even aware of my presence, but I can see and, if I strain my ears, hear them well enough.

"Why do you hang out with the monster, chick? Don't you know you'll get killed?" a freckled boy asks the girl. I cannot remember her name…

"Why would that be any of your business?" Sa-something says coldly back to him, still giving her back to them. She sounds frigid, as if people talking to her were not a common action in her life. What was her name?... Satori? ….Sarante?

_._

She takes two steps forward before the freckled kid, apparently the leader of the group, stepped up quickly behind her and grabbed a fistful of her ponytail. My eyes narrowed in interest when Sa…man…ta…spun around before the boy could yank the hair and embedded her foot in his stomach.

He gasped out loud and for some reason I felt my lips twist in a grin of satisfaction. Samanta, as I am sure is indeed her name, never once looked at the boy and turned her heel back once again. She started walking at a new path, away from the cluster of weaklings and into an alley I knew well enough from my late wanderings to be dangerous.

A couple of girls from the group shouted something at Samanta, but I was not paying attention to them any longer; the foreigner was heading towards trouble.

I did not think as my body was lifted by sheer impulse and I jumped from the building's roof. The impact my feet obtained when they met the ground was not great, but the ones around me gaped as I landed softly beside them. The boys' jaws slacked and the girls shrilled in fear, but I ignored them. My legs worked at a fast pace after a specific direction. The foreigner's direction.

I do not what I was thinking, but I had a feeling I could not let anything happen to the girl. I growled unexpectedly, anger pouring out of me at my own stupidity. "I just want to be the one who hurts her in the end…"

……

I heard some feminine voices yelling after me, but I tuned out the words. I knew those guys. Or at least, I'd seen them.

I had tried against my personality to befriend a couple of them when I was depressed. Obviously, as I had mentioned in previous chapters, that didn't go so well. I don't know what made them react that way, but I don't care; I am sick of retards acting as if they were so 'cool' and 'smart' by making others feel like shit.

As if I hadn't gone through enough of that.

I was mad, so I didn't see that I was heading toward a part of Suna I had yet to explore. Even if I'd noticed, I don't think it would've made a difference. I was seething, my teeth grinding against each other hard enough to make my gums bleed again.

And then I was in the dark. Alone.

I slumped into the sand of the alleyway, comforted by the noise of my own silence. If that makes sense. I decided to stretch a bit, to lose some of my stiffness and all, but then I heard a click. And then another.

I stood up and in the place where I had sat in was covered in needles. I hate those things. I, using the training my old track coach had given me, turned tail and sprinted with all my might toward the end of the alley. Sand flew from my sneakers, but since running to a dead-end with a more than possible threat at your heels is nut such I great idea, my effort was wasted in a useless attempt at escaping.

I felt an unnatural breeze as more sharp objects rained down to hit me. Once I reached the connecting wall, I don't know what I'd do, but I couldn't dwell on it as I dodged and evaded certain picks that had been thrown far too close to me for my liking.

Then, everything paused. I tripped on my shoe laces I hadn't noticed to be untied and I fell straight toward the ground. I expected to be stabbed the moment I stumbled and lost speed, but that didn't happen. The needle rain stopped.

I glanced up frantically and saw more than one shade of red before I regained my senses and got the hell out of there. I am ashamed to admit I did not look back to see my squared cloth sprawled on the floor,forgotten where I had fallen…

….…

There had been a small band of troublemakers that often were seen corrupting this part of the village. Jounins and Chuunins ignored them, saying they were but a wooden sword, far from lethal but overbearingly annoying.

I had never had a reason for going to these parts after I first discovered their 'hideout', but having the foreigner girl come across them was my business. She was but an insignificant part of my entertainment, yet she meant a lot to my late hours of solitude.

I cannot get books from anywhere else. Therefore, I eliminated the existence of those who threatened my night reliever. One day the books will run out and that's when I will get rid of the foreigner, but not today.

I saw her disappear from my sight, her feet a blur near the sand-covered ground, and I slowly slinked from view into the depths of dusk….right after I picked up the old drawing Samanta had carelessly dropped in haste, of course….

Done.


	15. My Friends: Mutts, Mouse, And Bug

Me- NOTICE: Before you go on reading this awesome story, you must consider reviewing IDEAS!

Black Zetsu- Sam is getting to the point of the beginning climax, so you guys wouldn't want a Mary-Sue happening, now would you?

White Zetsu- For anybody who caught on with the spelling of 'Samanta's name last chapter, it was Gaara PoV, so in the Japanese alphabet, it's spelled that way.

Black Zetsu- Why, you're suddenly a smarty-pants, aren't you?

White Zetsu- HEY! I am you!

Sam- Like I said before, the interesting part is due any chapter now, so keep reading.

Me- SHEESH. Bossy, bossy, aren't we?

My Friends:The Mutts, The Mouse, and The Bug

Sombra trotted happily between me and Kiba as we made our way out of the Hyuuga Compound and once again into the streets of the ever-sunny Konoha village. Team 8 was still a bit wary of me, but in the end, Hinata was the one to break the ice by suggesting Kiba's older sister to take a look at my ill-appearanced dog.

Kiba's suspicion instantly evaporated at the thought of having an excuse to interrupt Hana's training and Shino…well, he just followed silently.

I was also thrilled at seeing in person one of the most mysterious characters of 'Naruto' in person, but I strained to keep my giddiness inside my easily-distracted mind. Sam would be so proud of me…

Hinata looks at me like I just sniffed for no reason, and I realized I DID just sniff for no apparent reason. I mean, I missed Sam and her emo self and all, but these guys didn't know that. I smiled what I hoped was a convincing lift of lips and assured her I had allergies from time to time.

Kiba asked me rather rudely why did I have a dog then. "'Cause I felt like it!" I answered with a pumped fist. Shino glanced at me briefly before probably deciding I was a waste of time and looked away. I would've done a sweat-drop had I been an anime character.

Hinata, the ever-so sweet thing, smiled politely at me and Kiba huffed. Akamaru sniffed on top of the brunette's head and my own mutt growled threatingly at the smaller dog.

I don't know about the others, but I was sure glad when we finally arrived at Hana's place. If it can be called a place. I mean, it wasn't as grand or mighty as the Hyuuga compound, but it was just as big. And by big I mean HUMUNGOUS!

Everywhere your eyes laid, you would see a wolfish dog sprawled on the ground, wrestling with others, their tongues dripping with saliva and their own amber eyes bright with enthusiasm. Sam would've had a field day with this…

I sneezed at the same time Kiba let out an animalistic "WHOOP" of joy threw himself on top of a cluster of fierce-looking mutts and started head-locking them. Sombra glanced at me briefly, as if to say 'Idiots', but then jumped right behind the boy with the abnormally big canines.

The whole scene reminded me of what Sam would call a 'Party of Animals.' Except this was the literal sense, of course.

Hinata picked her way through the packs, careful to avoid stepping on any tails, and Shino wasn't far behind her. I figured that if I was to meet my hero, I had to move. So, me and my brilliant self, crashed not long after I attempted to step where the bug boy had right in the middle of a dog rally.

Hot breath with a rank stink was swallowed by my nostrils, fangs snapped way too close to my throat for me to be comfortable, and claws were swung with such might that I nearly peed my pants. Then, it all went away when a commanding voiced barked, as if it had been a hallucination my already messed-up mind imagined.

I was kneeled on the dirt, stones digging into my dark hands and fear sweat clinging on the back of my T-shirt, when I saw her. Hana. OH, MY SAVIOUR!

She was as recognizable as her little brother, her gaze strong and steady as she took the pitiful sight that was me in. I quickly forgot about my near heart attack and stood up without shaking. I straightened my soggy back and dusted some of the dust that covered my whole being off of me with my sore hands. I smiled as she frowned.

"Hiya, well, I'm Skylynn, hehe…."

…

The inside of the Inuzuka house was what one would describe as a dog pound.

Everywhere was a mess, a kinda-bad smell floating in the air, and with lots and lots of mutts that rivaled the number of those outside. I had lost sight of dog-boy himself and my dear Sombra, but I had a feeling they were right at home. I mean, DUH!

Hinata blushed, a rosy pink covering her high cheeks as she looked at Hana warmly. Said kunoichi nodded at her, but in a sisterly way, I guess. Shino didn't waste time with formalities, just headed right to the point, "A foreigner was placed under Gai-sensei's team and she seems to have a canine companion that might need a check from you." He finished the longest sentence I've heard from him so far with a flick of his wrist, his fingers lifting up his sunglasses up to the bridge of his nose.

I blinked, confused by what this meant until I remembered Hana was supposed to check Sombra's health. Oh….

Hana nodded again, this time seriously, and Hinata fidgeted once more with her fingers.

"KIBA! GET INSIDE. NOW!" I hadn't known the lady could b so loud, but Hana has a deep voice when she yells.

It was only a few seconds before we heard feet scrambling at the other side of the door, and Kiba busted though it, slamming the hinges to the point I was surprised they didn't break. The boy was breathless and had mud along with other things I won't mentioned stained on his jacket. Akamaru, who I hadn't noticed before, climbed with amazing agility Kiba's head and yapped happily as he caught sight of Hana.

Shiono muttered under his breath something I didn't catch but was otherwise stoic. Hana grabbed Kiba by his jacket's collar and lifted him with ease. Akamaru was quick to get off of his owner. I grimaced as the older ninja started spitting words at her sibling, glad I wasn't said boy. Hinata fidgeted some more, throwing Kiba a sympathetic look.

Kiba cringed, trying to hide within his wide coat, but Hana was having none of that. She finally stopped abusing Kiba, for which I saw no reason to do, when my mutt himself calmly trotted through the entrance. He was even rolling his tongue with joy, the mangy dog….

Hana dropped Kiba thoughtlessly and only his quick reflexes stopped him from falling awkwardly on his ass. Sombra sat at the foot of Hana's…feet. I sighed at the same time Shino did. Hinata ducked her head as Kiba cursed softly.

Hey, I just noticed Hinata and Hana's names start with an 'H.' Weird, right?

And then the latter female picked up my Sombra as if he didn't weigh a few dozens of pounds. Sombra stared at Hana, and Hana stared at Sombra, both of their noses apart by only inches of air. My mutt broke the silence when he licked the lady's check with a sloppy 'plop.'

I busted out coughing in a useless attempt to cover up my laughter, unaware of the cruelty Hana dared called training with a four-legged partner. In just three days, when Genma would be reaching the Hokage and discuss of my 'whereabouts' with the Inuzukas, I would be transferred into what was called 'observation and tactic supervision.'

And, no, that doesn't mean I get a cool x-ray vision, like the Hyuuga's Byakugan. No, that meant, even though I didn't know it yet as Hana grabbed Sombra by the snout and threw him across the house, that I would be under strict rules for a very long time.

Of course, that didn't mean I had to FOLLOW them all that time…. If only I could get my hands on some brushes and permanent ink…I will have to visit Naruto later…

….

Me-O.o

Sam- I know it is short, but I'm not known for long chapters…

Black Zetsu- I find it annoying not to be able to skip the whole meetings and greetings part and jump right in to the Exams…

White Zetsu-But, then it wouldn't make sense.

Me- YOSH. So, you'll have to bear this chappie, because next, Sam gets naughty!

Sam- You make me sound…barbaric…

Me- Well, you are armed with two knives…


	16. Off 'We' Go

Sam here. This is the beginning of a new era…

I do not own it.

Off 'We' Go….

I haven't seen much of the Desert Children over the last couple of weeks.

When I have, it was always Temari ushering me back to my training, a wild look resting permanently within her eyes, or Kankuro sneering at nothing in particular when he passes by my side on the street. I have to say, I'm worried about those two…

What's worse is that I lost my cloth. I think I might've dropped it when I ran from that alley, but I can't be sure…

I have been to the library many times after that encounter, a bit afraid of wandering through the night again inside Sunagakure. Every round I make, books placed solely under my arms, I have always paused to see if a red head would appear and take half of my findings with him.

He hasn't yet.

No matter what I tell myself or how many words I read, I can't get over the feeling that Gaara is about to be…gone. I dread a future where once the demon-vessel is no longer there to make an excuse for my stay here, that the Kazekage will get rid of me by either leaving me out in the harsh desert to die or…kill me.

I gulped audibly, the sound echoing around the almost-empty library. The few tenants who are here are simply seated on the center chairs, bookcases looming over them as if they were to collapse. They didn't bother to look my way.

I scan many titles that are not really making sense to my brain, and I soon give up trying to find a story to pass the agonizingly boring moments. I just stand there, staring at the dust that has accumulated over years on top of the book's spines…

…..00000000000000000…

Hours inside the stuffy library made my mood dampen. Like it wasn't soggy enough already.

I decided a few minutes ago that I was no longer afraid of walking the streets, and I am currently doing my over-due report for the Kazekage. And, yes, I am writing as I trot not so merrily the grainy path. Villagers often spare me with glances I can feel, but I am mostly happily ignored.

I should be content, don't you think? But I'm not.

It's becoming increasingly obvious as time goes on and I hear not one word from anybody that the Chuunin Exams are coming up. I have trained alone, unassisted by my oh-jolly Kankuro, who normally hunches over me as if to say 'I am stronger than you', but I don't know if I'm even decent at a chakra fight.

Ninjutsu, the little I have learned, and Genjutsu, the almost non-existent knowledge I have, are certainly a big chunk in a battle. I do not care to challenge or be challenged in any way, shape, or form, but I'm also aware that if Gaara goes off to 'claim' Konoha, I will be useless to Suna. And if I'm useless…I will most likely die.

The pen I 'borrowed' from a random man who was too busy reading a complex-looking text to notice me trembled slightly. My report now stated that 'over the last few days, the experiment has' and a very big scratch. I hope the Kazekage takes it as a nonviolent action, but I'm not TOO hopeful, so I throw the scroll at the nearest garbage can I find. For that, I had to walk a couple of blocks, seeing as the citizens of Sunagakure apparently didn't believe much in thrash holders.

I sighed and made a mental note to carry a plastic bag from then on. Then I sighed again as I remembered that I would probably be out-cold in some ditch the next time I went out for a walk.

I closed my eyes and nearly ran into a food stand in the process, but once I opened them again, I saw the only guy who would wear purple 'war paint' and a black suit in the middle of a desert. Kankuro looked as if he had just discovered shadows existed, seeing he kept cringing and flinching every other second.

I was more or less good at stalking, and the puppet master was distracted enough to actually giving me a chance to go unnoticed.

Why? Because I'm going to follow the prick that calls himself my mentor.

….…..

As far as the human eye could see, the desert displayed only sand dunes and the occasional pebble. I was seated rather uncomfortably at the top of the village's entrance wall, somehow still breathing.

Kankuro, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like a curse every minute or so, had led me to the Gates of Suna. I skillfully climbed the wall as one would after spending years going up trees, and I miraculously made it all the way up without any guards spotting me.

I saw the reason why I had easily been undetected as Kankuro, who had gone inside the narrow passage, came out with practically a dozen other shinobi. They stood rigidly, not really side by side but close to it, as Baki appeared in a swirl of wind in front of them. Temari was at her sensei's right, but Gaara was absent.

I made myself curl so that I be smaller, my legs shrinking within my stomach and my arms wrapping themselves around my figure.

I could barely hear what was being said over the earthy wind, but I managed to catch a few words and fragments when I strained my ears a bit.

"We shall leave immediately…"

"But the demon…"

"…can't wait!"

"…too risky…"

I leaned farther to see the faces of those speaking, but instead of finding shapes far below me, I found myself in front of outlined, emerald eyes. I believe it was me who let out a rather girly shriek. Unfortunately.

Gaara, the subject that I inferred to be the center of the ninja's conversation, stood, or squatted, impassively with his skinny arms crossed…across…his hidden-by-clothes chest. I gaped and he spoke in a deathly quiet whisper, "It is impolite to eavesdrop…"

The other shinobi, who had otherwise been ignorant of our presence, took out various kunais and shurinken before realizing who they were pointing their weapons at. Gaara looked down upon them with a stare that belongs only to the dead. Quite literally, really.

Baki took charge then, unwittingly becoming the spokes-person of the larger group by stepping in front of the others and announcing in a strong, clear voice, "Gaara. You are late."

Said red-headed boy completely ignored his teacher and instead spoke softly, but somehow roughly at the same time, to me, "This is not your place. Leave." His head was angled toward Baki, but his words were solely directed at my person.

I didn't bother to reply or even nod. I simply stood up, noting how I was slightly taller than the demon-vessel, and calmly strode in surprisingly calm steps down onto the ground. I was stopped in the middle of my descent, not really surprisingly, by a shinobi. I was shocked, however, when that kunoichi turned out to be Temari.

I stepped back, my shin pressing against the abode surface, my hands hidden within my large pockets, and with bulging eyes staring at the girl.

"You are willing to follow us, girl?" she spoke with an air of authority. "You are useful now, for I have seen and experienced your quick thinking and sharpened skills. If you are strong enough, I will brief you in on our mission."

Baki and Kankuro and many other of her fellow ninjas looked at her as if she'd lost her mind. I did, too, since I wondered when the heck did Temari speak so formally. Especially to me. I looked at her, and, really, looked at her, and I saw many conflicting feeling pass through her green eyes.

I have never been and probably never will be good at reading other people's emotions as I read books. I suck at it, as a matter of fact. That's why it was a shocker when I recognized pity and determination and fear shine through the so-called soul doors of Temari. I also realized that it meant the prideful kunoichi was putting out her neck for me.

This means that the wind mistress, hard and arrogant as she may have appeared, was trying to save my pitiful life by giving me a chance to play a part in her mission. She was trying to give my more time in this world by making me help them take away Konoha's own time.

I was never the most courageous or selfless person you'd ever meet. Far from it, actually. I am still not.

I shook my head and a couple of strands of hair flew out of my ponytail yet again. I then proceeded to lift up my chin and hold out my hands, something I would never do in normal circumstances.

"I am willing to accompany you into your mission, Temari-san. In fact, I would be honored."

And then, as all good tales tend to say, we drifted into the vast and dry land. Only not before Gaara glared at me and a couple of shinobi, Kankuro included, stuck out their noses at me. Childish, I know, but I wasn't the one to control what was being thought rather loudly at me…

…….

I am sorry for the long wait, but, then again, I really don't have to update every day…


	17. FINALLY!

Me- WHOOO! This is good, yeah!

Sam- I finally got inspiration from the reviewer's stories… I looked into your profiles, and I think 97chaoscat should try to write a fanfic. You can do it! Be confident in your writing 'skills'.

Me- YEP! YOU GUYS RULE! BUT WE NEED IDEAS, TOO!

Hinata- Umm…Skylyyn-san? Samantha-sama? D-do you w-want me t-t-to…

Me- Don't worry, Hinata-chan, we don't own you or Naruto.

Hinata- R-right.

FINALLY! 

Duck. Roll. Get hit in the face with an empty paint can.

Oh, yeah. Life is good.

Naruto yelled something over his shoulder at some of the villagers we had just assaulted with a glob of bright baby pink, Konohamaru right at his heels. Moegi and the other boy with the snot (Udon's his name, right?) came galloping in front of the boys, holding dried paint brushes and panting with excitement.

Where was yours truly in this prank-history event, you ask? I was a few feet behind, lagging as I was the one Sakura was screaming at. She was running besides me at my pace and seemed to be evading the upcoming 'projectiles' the villagers so kindly threw at us.

One way-too-ripened tomato hit me straight in the spot where a paint can had previously been shoved upon (thank you NOT, Konohamaru…) and I almost tripped. Sakura didn't seem to notice, but she did pick up speed.

She's a prick, too, but not as bad as Neji!

Moegi and Udon (as I will call him from now on) rounded up in the next corner and Naruto followed them without a second thought. Konohamaru and his shorty legs suddenly gave a surprising start and he practically flew at the head of our little troublemaker group.

No, that doesn't count you, Sakura…

The pink haired kunoichi stopped at her tracks once we, too, rounded at the corner of what apparently was not an alley as I had previously thought. Sam is so much better at guessing and predicting and stuff…..

I was looking at the ground, so I didn't actually stop until I bumped into Naruto's back, once again sending me flying on my ass. OUCH.

I rubbed my head for no apparent reason when I heard a gasp from Sakura, a growl from my favorite kitsune, and a couple of whimpers made by Konohamaru's friends. Wait. Backtrack. Again.

Where in Hell IS that scarf-wearing twerp?

I got my answer when I looked up from my sore legs to find said twerp dangling by his throat in the grasp of some dude. And then I wondered where my mutt was, but that's not relevant right now. Sombra could take care of himself. I think.

I gasped like Sakura had, except mine was emitted from my vocal cords _after _I recognized the guy that Naruto was screaming at. KANKURO!

His black..suit-ish..outfit..was definitely a give away, and Temari, her fan and blonde hair and all, was more than a subtle hint that the sand shinobi were here.

I then decided to 'observe' my surroundings and found out that this was the exact same place where Gaara had been introduced into the Anime. Or manga. Or whatever.

My neck snapped so hard when I twisted my head to see Sasuke chuck a rock at Kankuro's hand, I was apprehensive when my head didn't roll off. I caught on to the situation then.

"Who do you think you are, brat?" a very pissed puppeteer sneered at the Uchiha. Sausuke just shook his shoulder coolly, as if to give the impression that he wasn't intimidated by the older teen, and he smirked a bit.

Kankuro got a bit red-faced, something I hadn't noticed on screen, and he was about to bellow something undoubtedly obscene when a cold voice rang from above. A voice that I knew was a certain demon-vessel's, but it didn't come from a branch besides Sasuke.

I looked around wildly until I saw the red-haired, creepy boy perched on top of a roof near the wall. He was giving a death glare at his brother, making the other practically shake in fear, but that wasn't what grabbed my terribly-lopsided attention.

At Gaara's side, a pale, weird-haired girl had her eyes set on the sky. Her expression told everything. She did not want to be there, in case I need to spell it out!

I would've bounced up and down and called out VERY loudly Sam's name, but I didn't.

Why?

'Cause I had Uchiha Sasuke standing in my right, him having jumped down from the tree to glare better at Gaara. Didn't I mention before I had goo-goo eyes for Sasuke? I have an easily distracted mind!

"You are a disgrace to our village. Even the foreigner has complied orders better than you have, Kankuro…" Gaara's whisper sang out an unsaid threat. Kankuro visibly shook as Temari backed away with her large hands in front of her.

"N-o. You don't understand; Y'see, they started it and-"

"Shut up," Gaara looked straight in the eyes of his brother, daring him to speak again. "Or I'll kill you."

His sibling nodded rapidly, backing off completely. Sam finally took her gaze towards Earth and she settled it somewhere above Naruto's spiky hair. She was somewhat frowning, and I didn't blame her.

I mean, homocidial guy, right beside you, making his elder quake like a leaf in a windstorm. Who wouldn't be disturbed!

I was trembling myself, so when Gaara suddenly disappeared in a whirl of sand along with Sam, I flinched.

They reappeared in front of Temari, Gaara saying a brisk 'Let's go.'

Sasuke, however, was not done with the encounter. "Who are you?" He narrowed his eyes, and if I didn't have pride, I would've gushed.

Temari turned back and pointed at herself with her index finger, "Me?" Sasuke shook his head and looked pointedly at Gaara. The boy, as if he had somehow sensed the stare, turned slowly around. Sam kept her back turned and Kankuro did too.

"Gaara" his stoic tone drone in my head." I am also curious. Who are you?"

Sasuke now fully smirked, clearly showing off his perfect teeth (in my opinion) "Uchiha. Sasuke Uchiha."

Gaara didn't even nod, but before he could take his leave, Sakura intervened." Konoha has an alliance with Suna, but that doesn't mean shinobis can just walk uninvited into another village. What is your purpose here?"

I have to admit, she sounded official and important.

Temari grinned as she took out her passport, "We have permission, little girl. Are you so ignorant to be unaware of the Chuunin Exams?"

Naruto made a face, clearly stumped, as he yelled out his confusion," Chuunin…Exams?"

I placed my hand over my eyes and groaned softly, knowing where this was heading. I t was just too bad (or too good?) that the voice that followed was not the one who I thought I would be.

"The Chuunin Exams. They are the reason why we are here… if you do not know of them, ask. Just not us…" Sam's accent was like honey to my ears. Everyone (or so it seemed) stared at my friend who had yet to look at me. I snapped my fingers impatiently.

"Hey, health-nut. How's it going in the dark side?"

Sam turned on her heels fast enough for the friction under her soles to heat up the ground. My opened mouth quickly closed once I saw the girl was glowering at me. That's when I realized that I made a mistake by acknowledging that I knew her.

Gaara glanced at Sam and Temari and Kankuro squinted suspiciously at her. Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura were giving me, once again, THE look. Konohamaru and his pals…frankly, I have no idea what they were doing, and nor did I care.

Nor. SAMMY WORD!

That is also when I was tackled and used as a football target like I had been before. Except this time my 'attacker' was a dog.

At least I knew Sam was up and alive. Or at least, she was before she disappeared in yet another whirl of sand with the sand siblings.

… Sombra's drooling on me…..!

Me- SHORT AND SWEET!

Sam- You have probably unwittingly signed my death sentence….

Hinata-S-she didn't k-know any bette-er, Samantha-sama.

Me- Yeah! That's right!

Sam- Whatever. Review, don't review, we at least have thirty one of those.

Hinata- A-although, it would b-be nice to re-re view!


	18. I Am About to Die

I have the influenza. For those out there who do not know what that means, I am very sick. Because I have nothing else to do other than lay around and hope I get better by tomorrow, I shall update.

Also, I now have a fanfiction account. This is Sky's, by the way. It is 'maneatingraccoon.' I'm currently writing another story too, so if any of you are interested….

I do not own Naruto.

I Am About to Die

Sky messed up. Again.

I was actually looking forward to seeing my lost friend, even if I didn't know she'd be in Konoha. However, that feeling went down the drain once those dreaded words reached our ears.

"Hey health-nut. How's it going in the dark side?"

I wanted to strangle that nonmexican brownie. I think I would've, but Gaara pulled us away from the Konoha Genins and my apparently brain-less friend before I had the chance to. Drat it.

So now, I was going to have to answer to some pretty tough questions. Thank you, Sky.

My brain whirled and sputtered as I frantically searched my mind for some excuse as to why that enemy girl knew me. Gaara reappeared in front of me as I finally worked the conclusion of running. Not smart, but it was the best I could do.

I swear, I flew out of that window.

…

My calves were burning, but that was nothing compared to my original training with the Sand Siblings. I gasped and puffed, my face heating into that embarrassing shade of red. The villagers from Konoha stared at me whizz by, no doubt amazed by me attractiveness and speed.

Cough-NOT-cough. This is not turning into a Mary-Sue!

I accelerated my pace to where I had last seen the pea-brain. How I didn't get lost, do not ask me, but I managed to find her without any help.

Me-1

Karma-0

I ignored Team Seven and Konohamaru, even if I wanted nothing but gape at the characters. I stopped to-to-toe from Sky and full out glared at her.

"How," I grounded out, a bit out of breath but nothing serious. The girl looked at me blankly for a second. Then, a giant dog pounded into me, digging his massive claws into my narrow chest. Now, THAT, left me out of breath.

"NO! BAD SOMBRA! OFF! OFF!" Skylynn's lips moved in a blur, but that might have been me knocked up head. God, I prefer Chihuahuas over mastiffs…

"What is the meaning of this?" an angsty voice exclaimed rather emotionless. Uchiha Sasuke.

"Um…I, well..Y'see" the nonmexican was sprouting nonsense to her crush. If I hadn't been infuriated with the girl in the first place, I might've smirked in amusement. Truly, this was not the case. I joined the duckass in his glower.

Sky was no doubt having difficulties getting that mutt off of me. The animal seemed stubborn to stay a top of me, so I thought it must've had a grudge against me or something.

"I-I," pea-brain stuttered. Then, miraculously, a light bulb seemed to light on top of her head. "I told ya I was physic! I KNEW THIS NINJA WAS GOING TO BE COMING! And I also reasoned she's anorexic, not to mention a new division to that..uh.. Sand Team!" she nodded to herself, apparently content with her 'intelligance.'

I almost snorted, but I contained myself. Barely.

'Anorexic…?' Drat that girl. I told her I'd gotten OVER that phase!

Naruto looked back and forth between me and Sky and Sakura did too. Sasuke just looked thoughtful. And, ladies and possible gentlemen, that is when Kankuro and Temari and, of course, Gaara, popped in.

"Figures the foreigner would be so stupid," the middle brother droned out, slurring the words on purpose. I hate that guy.

"Physic? What a…strange…ability." Temari said, scanning Sky with sharp eyes. Sky shuffled nervously. Stupid, stupid, STUPID! This is no time to be your shy self! Look confident and strong!

Sasuke noticed Gaara's glare toward the pea-brain, and he moved protectively in front of her. Really, it was almost a subconscious action, but Sky reddened from head down. Serves her right.

I quickly blended into the confines of my 'team.' That seemed to lessen Gaara's hostility for reasons I cannot imagine.

"We shall meet in battlefield, Uchiha."

…..

The hotel which I had originally jumped from was an empty, uncomfortable place. Gaara got his own room, but we, as in Temari, Kankuro, and I, had to share the living room. Baki had showed up, but he just looked us over briefly and left just as quick.

I banged my head in the wall, making a nice vibration flow through my skull.

"Stop that!" Kankuro entered my personal bubble and took my cranium between his beefy hands. I stopped. He backed away. I resumed the action. Kankuro's eyes twitched.

I normally wouldn't aggravate the puppet master, but I didn't have any books and I was not allowed to go outside. Something about a hard-cover weight slowing us down in the trip. I sighed. And then I did it again. Kankuro's brow twitched this time.

Temari sat between us to prevent any future injuries. "Who's hungry? I'm starving," the wind mistress remarked loudly. "I want to eat. Let's go." Proclaiming in her one-sided conversation, Temari stood up and made her way to the door.

I frowned and Kankuro asked in a small voice," Um, weren't we supposed to stay in here?"

Temari grinned at us and I could suddenly see the blood-relation she had to Gaara. I also stood up but paused beside Temari. "Shouldn't we tell Gaara?"

Kankuro sneered and walked out, slamming the door in his wake. "He's not gonna miss us."

…

…

….

Short-yes

Do not worry. Next time: Chunnin Exams. I will also explain the cloth.


	19. Chunnin Exams? Ouch!

Me- Hello! Welcome to 'Viva Naruto World!' Part 19! Also, read 'A Child and a Hell Child' by maneatingraccoon!

Sam- Do not make this story propaganda for that like it's a product, brownie.

Tenten- Yeah. If reviewers want to read this story, they shouldn't have to read the other one like it's a combo!

Me-(bows) Yes, sensei. But stiiillll. It's a good story, a crossover by your dear Sam. I normally hate Potter/Naruto crossovers, but this is a good one! Also, to those who visit Sam's penname and profile: BEWARE! She is like the major yaoi fangirl! It's only because of me that this fic doesn't have (shudder) boy on boy action.

Tenten- Yeah. Sky hates slash, but Sam worships gay people.

Sam- I do not. I simply like people who are not afraid of being themselves and cute boys showing affection toward each other.

Me and Tenten- SUUUURRREE…

Chuunin Exams! OUCH!

"It's close now," I whispered dramatically as I was held against my will in front of the Hokage. "Your death is very, very close…"

And then I got whacked in the head by a not-happy Iruka.

"Shut it already about that! Hokage-sama didn't ask you for any details of his parting!" the chuunin instructor said as he glared at me like I had seen him look at Naruto. I cowered by the long legs of my old friend Genma, but he spat out his wheat-thingy and kicked my back, effectively sending me sprawling in front of the Hokage's desk.

Great help, Joe.

I rubbed my forehead with my aching hand, but the old man Sarutobi showed no sympathy. I think I saw a glimmer if amusement in his eyes, though…

"And are you aware of the outcomes of the Exams, Skylyyn?"

Pffft. No, really. I answered that question with a blow of my lips. "Am I aware of- but of COURSE I am! As a matter of fact, I know every single move of the shinobi participating! Or, at least of the Konoha Gennins…"

The old man smiled kindly at me, but I could see his wheels spinning under the GINORMOUS hat. He was thinking about something, planning an event, and that was never a good sign on ANY adult with a powerful status.

I shifted nervously on the hard floor and Genma kicked me again for no apparent reason. I turned around to yell at him but before I could do that, Iruka stepped toward the Hokage, effectively stepping on me on the process.

He wasn't wearing heels, but that man has a tough foot!

Ahem, moving on! Iruka widened his hands, melting the stiffness out of them, and looked at the old man straight in the eye,"You're not thinking about that, are you, Hokage-sama?"

He sounded an awful lot suspicious, but I refrained from making a so-needed comment. I opted for listening instead.

"No, why, that depends on what you're referring to, Iruka," the Hokage 'innocently' replied. I squinted my eyes at this, and Genma eyed his leader warily. Wait, he's MY leader now too, huh?

"Hokage-sama…."Iruka sweat dropped, "please, tell me you're not…"

The old man cleared his throat. What the hell did Iruka mean? And why does the Hokage seem to know exactly what his Chuunin was talking about, but played dumb? Why did suddenly Genma pale in realization? Why is no one answering my questions?

"Yes, Iruka. Skylyyn's informative presence might just be an advantage to have for Konoha's well-being in the Chuunun Exams. I think and greatly propose her to join them."

Igaped. And then I stared. And then I did both.

"Hokage-sama!" both Genma and Iruka voiced out simultaneously. They looked like they'd been both slapped silly, in my opinion.

The old man just chuckled, making a sound that will ring in my ears for weeks to come.

. …..

I HATE TRAINING.

More specifically, I hate having Team Gai train me. I was told I wasn't going to be in their group during the Chuunin Exams. I frankly have no clue who I'm going to be joining. Tenten doesn't either, but that's not stopping her from making me run suicides across THE VILLAGE!

If that girl is crazy, her sensei is mad and Lee's a dweeb.

Neji's still a butt.

I gasped and rasped (eek! Rhyme) and I huffed and puffed, but I barely completed the first sprint. And, well, could ya blame me? Sam might have done a couple or more, but she's a freak too!

I finally dropped on my knees, too tired to care that Tenten will probably be looking for me any moment now. Ever since she came back from her mission, she's been in such a pissy mood, I wonder if her time of the month came…

Wait, never mind. I'm not too tired to get away from that weapon PMSing ninja!

I got up quicker than I thought I'd be able to, and I think I caught a glimpse of Sam's 'original' curly hair, but I was up and running again too soon for me to actually look closely. Oh well, can't hurt me this way. Where Sam is, a red-head's bound to be nearby, and I no likee the thought of getting squashed for getting too close to my best friend.

I twisted my head around once the thought of a certain homicidal got engraved in my head and my paranoia self began feeling a creepy sensation of being followed. However, a thought is a thought and a feeling is a feeling.

So, in that note and rule, I fell because one shouldn't run while trying to look back over one's shoulder. Please, take this as a warning and don't try at home. It's PAINFUL!

Anyway, as I laid there in the middle of the street, I felt a shadow come over me and fearfully squeaked, thinking it the witc- I mean, Tenten.

I realize a shadow is a shadow, too, and shadows belong to shadow masters. Enter: Shikamaru Nara.

"Troublesome…"

….

(Special Shikamaru PoV!)

I watch the girl Asuma-sensei had warned us about and I think she's a drag. Dark skin, big-boned, slight apprehensive character…Oh yeah. A bother.

She shook herself off, pausing to look me over. She has very big brown eyes, and they get wider as she seems to recognize me. How-

I remember. Asuma had also said she's a supposed 'physic.' Hmm…I think I'll test that.

"Oi, girly. I think you should watch out in the future for cracks."

Not my best challenge, but it takes a lot of effort to make it worth, and I don't really feel like putting that much work into my 'test.'

But she takes the bait, so I'm not complaining, surprisingly.

"WHAT! What do you mean by GIRLY, pinaplehead!"

…..I stand corrected. She didn't get hooked, but she is apparently another simpleton. Great.

"Never mind," I sigh and turn to walk away, but the girl snaps up her hand way faster than I thought her size would let her, and she flipped me on my back. I stared boredly at her over me, her other hand making a "V" victory sign next to my forehead.

I grimaced, not from embarrassment at being trumped by a girl or anything, but from how her knee cap was digging into my ribs. She noticed my flinch and faster than I could blink, she was standing up.

"SORRY SHIKA! I didn't mean to hurt you, but I'm not preppy!"

So she knows my name…. I sighed again and flipped so that I could, too, stand. I stretched slightly before giving off a huge yawn. I started to walk away again, too, but this girl's persistent and has now a set-on to talk to me.

"HEY! You really are lazy! You could've dodged that easily, couldn't you?"

I somewhat smirked. 'Smart in that…"

"WHAT'RE YA SMIRKING ABOUT, YA BASTARD?"

…

(Me again O.o)

I got slapped. No, scratch that. I got backhanded. Yeah….

"Who do you think you are, calling Shikamaru a bastard, you fatso?"

Oh no, she didn't. Bleach blonde Ino did not just tell me I'm fat! No… SHE DID! The fight is on…..

"Who YOU calling a fatso, chicken legs? Too afraid of food to eat any?" Beat that, cheerleader! (Sorry if you like or are a cheerleader, but I can't stand them….) I glared fire at the thin girl, thinking smugly how Sam was slimmer than her. Heh!

"W-what did you just say?" the blonde screeched. And I mean, she shrilled the damn words in my ears! I clutched my poor feelers in an attempt to save them from further torture, and thankfully Choji stopped his companion from her bellowing.

"Ino! We aren't supposed to start fights!" the clumpy boy said, inching back when Ino turned her glower towards him. "Asuma-senei said…."

Said girl's eyes widened as she finally wraped her sleazy mind around the fact that I was the Great and Powerful Skylynn! (Insert Batman theme song)

Nanananananana nanananana BAT-MAN! Or in this case, SKY-LYYN! Nananananananana nanananana

What? I like Batman….

…..

…..

Me- HI!

Sam- I hate that song.

Tenten- I think it strangely fits Skylynn….

Me- Sam promised the Chuunin Exams! Why aren't they here?

Sam- I said I was going to put them, so they'll start in my PoV. This will also be the last updating in some time, seeng my long-lost family will come visit me for the next three weeks.

Tenten and Me- WHAA?

Sam- I have a life, y'know.

Me- BAHHH! Review please, and maybe Sam will take pity on us and update faster!


	20. Classroom of Scars and Loud Blondes

Special thanks to amaranteotaku, who follows loyally toward the end, and our new Beta readers, Wolf Dragon Demon (Estrella) and Zen-sama. Also, to Gaaras1Girl, I hope to hear from you soon again with your opinion.

Classroom of Scars and Loud Blondes

The doors were placed under a simple Genjutsu that even I could have spotted a few yards back. Izumo and Kotetsu, having placed a transforming jutsu upon their now-younger selves, were oozing intimidating intent.

I tried to hold in a knowing gasp, as I have a tendency to state the obvious.

Temari sneezed behind her large hand and shook her head meaningfully at me. Look strong, she tells me without words. Right. Kankuro just staggers inside the crowded classroom, by all means looking like he owned the place.

Gaara wasn't here. Or, technically, he isn't supposed to be here.

But that information's for later purposes.

Kabuto and his black-clad companions were sprawled on the nearest bench to the door. Many, many Shinobi of the Rain were seated in almost all cubic space inside the classroom, which I now remember to be the very same room of the first part of this Exam.

Most of the rookie 9 were standing up front, some looking us over, some continuing their chatter. Team 7 was the only one absent, not surprisingly.

It is just my luck that I get to participate in a competition where I could get, and most likely will, get plummeted to the ground with a small, white munchkin dog.

I lift my chin up, a gesture which I seem to be doing a lot lately, and I forcefully smiled in general. No need to become a nuisance or a pain so early in the 'games.' As if I wasn't already by simply being here.

Okay, it is later. Gaara isn't here because, once Baki got to thinking my presence in the whole 'plan', the Jonnin decided that the demon-vessel would function much better if he was concealed from the shinobi's awareness. Surprise attack and all.

At first, Gaara was not happy. A long way from there, as a matter of fact. He was an assassin, dammit, and he'll be damned if he didn't get any action on this mission!

Obviously, those weren't his exact words, but that's not either the point or important.

So, he's somewhere on a nearby roof, sulking as much as Gaara can express, watching all of what was going on in _here _with his third-eye technique. I envy him oh so much.

Kankuro led us to a space already occupied by some lesser ninjas,and was too busy scaring off said individuals in an attempt of getting the seats, to notice my stare at the entrance doors. Temari, rolling her eyes at the antics of her brother, did notice, but either she didn't care or…well, she probably just didn't care.

There. In a distant corner, a shimmer of sand shifted as the doors were forced open by the obnoxious blonde. A girl with a very wide forehead and a guy with the only duckass hairdo in the world stood beside Uzumaki Naruto.

I would gape, but I had already seen them on our mid-street encounter. I was expecting them.

And, yes, there goes Kabuto with his cards, no doubt showing off in front of the rest of us. I don't mind (I've lived with arrogant people all my school career) but the Sound shinobi are due to make a scene. And they do.

"No fighting is allowed unless you are specifically engaged in a combat by orders!" yet another dep voice echoed inside the crowded classroom. Morino Ibiki stood in front with all his tortured glory, his bandana whipping slightly as he cranked his neck to glare at Dosu.

I think that's the guy's name, but I'm not completely positive…

Dosu blinked innocently and responded in an even voice, "That was not fighting, Sensei. We were just having fun before the real thing." He looked pointedly at Kabuto's limp body hanging from Sasuke's and Naruto's support.

Ibiki snorted and commanded us to sit already. I picked a spot in the very middle quickly, hoping that by some miracle I won't get caught while attempting to cheat. Of course, not even the information I held of the test will help me to actually answer it correctly.

I'm a pretty smart girl, but guerrilla warfare and stragedy tacts are not high on my wall of accomplishments.

Ibiki explained what I'm sure is too much for me to rewrite, so I'll skip it. No point in repeating the same thing over and over. Ibiki was just finishing up on the tenth question when I noticed something. Something I should've noticed, but didn't. Something very, very important.

Uchiha Sasuke was sitting next to me.

I, faster than I thought I'd do, practically break my neck when I turned to look at the sheet of paper we'd just been handed out. My eyes wanted to bulge, but I forced my face to remain impassive. Somewhat.

I was sweating again. Have I mentioned I hate to sweat?

The young Uchiha's eyes flashed up in a red haze in the glance I gave him. Possibly already figured out the meaning of the exam, the cocky bastard.

I look around a bit and, in fact, start seeing others making a move. Neji's eyes go into their Byakugan state, Tenten twirls her pencil in a nonsuspicious movement, and, yes, there goes Kankuro to the bathroom. I sigh a bit. My paper's still blank.

I hold my gaze to that corner again, this time seeing the actual sand eye floating through the air. I'm shocked that Gaara's being so careless, but then I realize that he's probably doing it on purpose. Now he's the arrogant bastard.

I look down to my paper again and start reading. Time passes, and I've managed to answer seven out of nine questions without any stolen aid. I think that's enough, so I sit back slightly and prop my elbow on the back of my chair.

I close my eyes, and when I open them again, I see a piece of cloth sticking out from under my face-down test. My cloth's back.

I stretch as much as I can without looking like an idiot, only to reach out casually to the wrinkled square. Now held in my fist, I recall loosing it somewhere in the streets of Suna. A couple of second pass with me trying to figure out how it's back in my possession, and I almost give up thinking when it occurred to me.

Who's the only person able to give me an object unnoticed in a room full of watchful Jonnins? Who gave it to me in the first place? Sabaku no Gaara, that's who.

I look at the circle again, the word 'filled' becoming engraved on my brain for what seems like a broken disk.

Filled, filled, filled.

I frown, my brows knotting with each other in a way that's considered unattractive. I touch the cloth with my other hand, but I find that on my touch, it turns to sand. His sand. Then the grains disappear in a small swirl.

So dramatic, I thought.

Many contestants are being disqualified by the moment. Some of the guys from the Rain I had seen on the classroom at the beginning were mostly gone. Many more are still due to take their leave. Wait. Is that a…Mexican…who just cursed in Spanish?

"Mierda!" a soft spoken voice snapped quietly behind me. My back stiffened and Sasuke rolled his Sharingan eyes a bit.

That was Skylynn.


	21. Of Demented Mentors

Me- We are back in business, people! Sam got grounded 'cause she threw a shirt at her brother in a mock fight and broke his glasses, so sorry for the delay!

Sam- I don't see how telling whoever's reading this of my personal problems is any good…

Choji- I think it has something to do with Sky having an excuse as to not updating faster.

Me-(gasp) You…you…

Sam- Moving on.

Choji- Neither Sky or Sam own the show 'Naruto' or any of its characters.

Of Seriously Demented Mentors

It's a fly.

Or maybe it's a beetle, if those critters were to be the size of my pupil. How I estimated their measurements, well, let's just say one flew by _really _close.

No, that is definitely a fly.

I sighed for what seemed the fifteenth time in the last couple of seconds and stared at the said bug. It was circling the guy right next to me, or more accurately, circling his paper.

I just remembered this 'Shino' character does that in the Anime. I feel such a jealousy that he's having luck at actually completing this test.

Oh, why, oh, why didn't I pay attention to this part on my T.V? Why didn't I ask Sam when I had the chance?

Right. Because I was too busy ogling (is that even a word?) at the Uchiha currently holding my 'crush' position inside my puny mind! Sasuke's so hot and mysterious…

'Snap out of it, Sky,' I slap myself, 'concentrate on this stupid Exam!'

I sigh again and drop my head with a 'thunk' on top of the wooden desk. The very long desk. The very, really stinky desk. I raise my head in disgust at the stench, my nose wrinkled in the way it does every time I hear the words 'Mexican Food.'

Man, Sam's right. I kinda am a nonmexican. Sniff. Bleah.

The guy, whose answers were copied by the bug, looked up at me with a question mark on his face before apparently deciding I wasn't interesting enough and dived back into the paper with scrabble sounds from his pencil.

I groaned at the horrible stench that seemed determined to invade my whole nostrils, but that only resulted in me getting unshed tears to my eyes. Just like onion. Sniff.

….A few moments before the odor invasion…

I'm walking beside Sasuke. Sasuke is walking besides me. And Naruto, but he's only ruining my moment now.

Wait. Backtrack. I'm sounding like Sakura, aren't I? Oh God, the horror!

I slap myself, a habit I seem to have accustomed from being in a different world. If that makes sense.

"Oi, Sky! You're not supposed to hurt yourself at the Chuunin Exams, dattebayo! That's what the competition is for!" Naruto grinned with a mischievous glint in his eyes. He looked like a fox.

'No duh,' Sam's voice rings in my head. I have got to get some mental help, and fast! I can't keep on hearing voices, since it can't possibly be healthy!

I don't realize I said this aloud, but I figure it out as soon as I see Sasuke's expression on his normally stoic face. His eyebrows are raised, making them look as if they were painted archways, and I curse myself for being so poetic.

Sam's getting to me. I'm scared. Next thing you know, I'll be willingly doing push-ups. Ugh.

Anyway, back to the Uchiha's face. His lips were the same, if not a bit pinched at the sides. His eyes held some sort of amusement, but I couldn't really tell if that was a good thing or not. I decided it didn't matter. His ears…you don't need to know that, do ya?

"Who said you were in condition in the first place?" the ebony-haired boy questioned in a slightly sarcastic manner. Fully note my big words, please.

I gaped a bit in indignation, put out of being smartly mouthed off. That prick! He was worse than Neji!

"Excuse me!" I barked with a pointed air of self-proclaimed authority," I'm healthy enough to participate in this test, unlike your so-called companion!"

I brought my lightly-bulgy thumb up to my chest and smiled like there was no tomorrow, "I'm going to be a challenge for ya, Sasuke!"

It took about three seconds in total for a certain blonde to process I had just unintentionally called Sakura a weakling, "Sakura-chan had a choice, you brownie! She chose to let you compete in this thing in her place, so you should be grateful for the opportunity Sakura-chan ha-"

I cut him off with a wave of my hand in front of his blue, blue eyes. "I'm aware of that, Naruto. And don't call me Brownie. Only one person does, and she's not you."

I turned my back on him then, but not before Naruto threw me an infuriated glare I had not known the blond was capable of giving at this stage of the series. I should try to be nicer to the topic of the pink-haired girl, but she did give up her place, willingly and fully informed of the consequences.

I think it had something to do with her being scared of failing in front of everybody, but again, I didn't pay much attention to this part of 'Naruto.'

…..Back to Annoying Classroom….

_Attention! Attention! The fly has buzzed off!_

Fireworks burned inside my imagination as the bug finally left toward Shino and away from my stinky long desk. I wanted to get up and do a victory dance, but I have a feeling that wouldn't sit too well with scar-head and his faithful minions…

And Sam would probably skin me alive, anyway, so I remain cited somberly in my seat. I stay there, quietly sulking, thinking of my horrible luck of not having a smarty-pants brain, when I sense it. _My eyes itch!_

I claw desperately with my short fingernails at my eyelids, grabbing both the attentions of Sasuke and the geek besides me. I don't care if I'm looking like an idiot right now, though. I do that enough, anyway.

"Grainy dust particles seem to have embedded themselves deep within your eyes, Brownie," Sam's meaning of 'You have sand stuck in your eyes' rings out obsessively in my ears. I'm beginning to hate her confident voice…

"_Mierda!"_ I spit out harshly as I feel the tears well up in my probably-reddened eyes. Wow, I'm thinking of my eyes a lot. I mean, first the stench and now the sand! Sand… Sand!... _Sand!_

Gaara! I remember this! He uses his creepy third-eye jutsu to cheat off other Gennins' papers! I frantically rub my eyes now, wanting to catch him in the act. Howeveer, when I pull my palms away from my face, all I see is a fluffy mop of brown hair.

Brown, curly long hair. Sam! A greeting almost passes through my lips, but I manage to muffle it in time (somewhat) as I bite my tongue. I would really get kicked off the Exam along with Sasuke and Naruto if I talked…

But Sam's kinda directly in front of me! I guess being a couple of rows away and a bit on the diagonal side isn't exactly 'directly' in front of me, but it's close enough! I wish I could copy her answers...

I open my mouth in a yawn that simply had to come out, but instead of my mouth closing with a snap, I find it stuffed. Yes, my mouth is stuffed, like a pig with an apple shoved in its snout. This, on the off chance anybody's thinking it, does _not _mean that I am in any way like a pig, except maybe for the stuffed mouth thing.

My throat instantly tries to gag whatever nuisance had lodged itself between my teeth, but I try to force down the reflex since that would definitely draw many, many people's curiosity towards me. I mean, girl choking up in what seems the very air, people, come and point all ya want!

I don't want to look like an idiot in front of everybody. Scratch that: I don't want to look like an idiot in front of_ Sasuke_, who I have already pledged to be a challenge to. If I get us thrown out of here now, I won't get to be able to _be _that!

Maybe if I slowly spit the thing obstructing my mandible passageways out behind my hand…

I decide to go ahead and do it, but as the thing, apparently some kind of fabric (trust me, I know how a sock feels and tastes, clean or dirty…) slowly came out of my mouth, I swallowed dirt.

Dirt. As in, something that came from the ground. No, Soil. As in, probably dead plants and animals. No, Sand. As in, Gaara's weapon and shield.

I have sand in my mouth, and I swallowed it.

My brain has yet to register what has just gone down my throat, or more specifically, what can happen if a certain red-head decides to move said sand in my stomach. My body, however, does know what had just happened, and I threw up. Again. But this time, it was in a classroom filled with people that are basically my competition, not in an outdoor path where almost no one witnessed the bits and pieces of gooey food flying all over the ground.

Also, this time something big came out of my mouth. And I'm not talking about the large dumplings I ate for breakfast. The thing, which was the very object I was trying not to choke with from the beginning, was indeed a fabric sheet. It landed on top of my paper, soaked in my vomit fluids, and I think I saw a circle drawn on the middle of the rumpled cloth before Ibiki's voice rung out.

"Team Seven, in account of your companion's inability to hold down her nerves in these kinds of stressful situations, you are dismissed of this Exam."

The only thing that muffled Naruto's enraged protestsafter he realized what Ibiki's big words meant was the noises of disgust the Gennin in front of me made as he discovered that his back was sprayed with my grotesque-clumpy puke.


	22. The Overly Dramatic Guide to Being a Nin

Once again, this is still Sam and I still do not own Naruto. This is a bit short, but I'm positive it'll be worth reading…

The Overly-Dramatic Guide to Being A Ninja

_Disqualified. Disqualified. Disqualified. Disqualified._

The word kept coming back to me like an enraged wasp, picking and flying within my skull's wall. I knew what happened, but it just wasn't being processed correctly by my brain. Sky had just kicked out Team 7 out of the Chunnin Exams. By puking on a guy's back, no less.

_Great job, Brownie, _sarcasm dripped from my thoughts.

I would have predicted Skylynn to have given up, yes, but never guessed she was nervous enough to vomit. She has never been determined enough to accomplish something complicated, like a puzzle or jigsaw, and she had a strong stomach when she entered that hot-dog competition. I learned she could hold down 11 of those things that day…

I closed my eyes to imagine her face, reddened and pinched, as the duckass probably glared at her and Naruto most likely shot her an accusing look. I don't know for sure, too busy going over my own test to pay attention to other's problems.

I even went as far as placing a basic Genjutsu on my paper to fool anyone who tried to copy my answers. I wasn't well known by anyone, excluding Kankuro and Temari and Brownie, so that must've tricked about forty percent of the contestants here. My glasses have that effect of smarty-pants on people…

"That's not fai-" Brownie's attempt at injecting an excuse failed as Naruto beat her at it. " What? You're telling me that because Skylynn barfed we're disqualified?"

_Not the best to say in this situation, fox, _ I think as I take a peek at the dramatic scene. _How the mighty_ _have fallen, _I say to Sasuke in my head, _and not even by your own stupidity…._

"**Don't underestimate us!"**

Whoever had not paid attention to what had been going on was when they heard him; Naruto's loud declaration made heads turn in curiosity.

"One of us may limp, while the other may have glasses and the last one may barf easily, but we work together as a _team, _and I'll be cursed if it's torn apart by a simple case of nerves!" he jumped up from his seat besides Hinata and looked straight at Ibiki's widened eyes.

"The limp one hops faster in one foot than a civilian runs in two; the blind one hears and feels what everyone else overlooked with a pair of eyes; the last who holds her stomach may be stronger than we sense and give credit!" Naruto's eyes glinted in determination, his voice getting stronger as he continued talking- no, _declaring- _ and I suddenly understood what my old English teacher meant when she told me that words were more powerful than fists.

"I'm not giving up, not by a long run, and we're **not afraid, believe it!**" he pumped his arm towards the ceiling, a defiant act all by itself. My jaw slackened, wondering how the blonde could get me thinking into seeing Sky's puke as something related to strength.

A hush silenced the room like a wave, all the pencil scribbling and the paper's rustlings coming to a halt. I glanced at the man in front of all of us, and he said nothing for a while. Then, Ibiki whispered,

"Sit down."

Naruto placed both of his palms on the desk, lowering himself slowly into his seat. But he didn't look down, he didn't subdue the flames in his look, and I found myself silently cheering him on. This guy, this goofy kid I'd seen on T.V, was breathtaking in reality. "I follow my unbending words. That's _my _ninja way!"

And he was Skylynn's teammate. A smile creeped up into my lips, forming itself wider when I realized nothing wrong would happen to Brownie in Naruto's capable hands.

….

The rest of the first test continued as if nothing had happened between Skylynn's indigestion problem and Naruto's outburst, so when time got to the tenth question, almost no one left. I'm not entirely convinced Gaara just ignored that whole scene; he must've witnessed what conflicts persecuted one event after another and heard Naruto's speech.

When A nko's ominous sign obscured Ibiki's side of the classroom from us, I felt relieved that we didn't have to answer the tenth question. It would've brought more trouble on Sky, especially since she doesn't know what she's doing…

But why didn't we have the tenth challenge? Has our presence unbalanced the original version so much that the test themselves changed? Will time and space collapse from its frame and bend the whole universe? Will the planets b-

_Stupid! Ibiki simply realized none of the Gennins were going to leave after Naruto's proclamation and he was just being smart…_

I release the breath I'd been cruelly withholding in my lungs and stare at the spot somewhere between Anko's nose and right ear. It was only when I felt the girl besides me get up did I know it was time to leave for the second test.

Forest of Death, here we come…

…

Dark green everywhere. Wrinkled tree roots emerging enormously from the ground. Giant insects crawling with their wings through the air.

Not one speck of land was without life, but this… _this_ specie of biome was unnatural. It felt as if it would all suddenly rot and evolve into an endless darkness that wouldn't fail at swallowing us whole to its very core. It was as if the shadows out of the corner of my eyes would all suddenly jump into existence and grab my soul into their infernal world.

I shuddered, grimacing at the twisted turn my thought went to. Maybe Brownie's right and I _am_ a goth…

Temari's blond hair was dull as it bounced up and down in her haste. As she was the head of our three-man squad, she was leading us deeper into the forest, every few minutes increasing the pace. It was fear, I realized, at not having Gaara's brute strength at her side that willed her legs to go faster.

Kankuro kept glancing behind our backs, giving me a rising sense of dread that we were being followed. I really wished I wasn't here. Why, thy cruel world? Why thy shall be forever against myself? God, I hate drama…


	23. Its Meaning Finally!

Me: is being a butt. It's not letting us update!

Konan: It's been so long, and we deeply apologize, even if it wasn't our fault.

Sam: I don't really care either way, just don't flame us.

Me: I hope it's been worth the wait! Sam worked hard on this chapter!

Konan: Naruto is not owned by anyone but a Japanese lucky bastard. Although he is very creative…

**Its Meaning (Finally)**

As I stroll through the metal gates of the very big and scary forest, I'm not thinking about the horrible and gigantic beasts that await impatiently for our succulent flesh to cross over to their dark side. _Oh no, I definitely wasn't thinking about that at all._ The only thought that occupied my imaginative mind was my own gigantic beast, Sombra.

Where the hell is my mutt?

Ever since the first phase of the Exam began, I haven't had my dog! I mean, Kiba has Akamaru and Shino has his bugs (which freak me out) but somehow, I just don't have Sombra. My beautiful dog would most likely save me from those enlarged snakes! I say, only my mutt, and maybe Naruto, but never Sasuke.

What is the thing that I will regret most in my life? I've done some pretty stupid stuff, including getting caught when I copied a certain math test, but I think the worst is yet to come. Maybe, I don't know, this feeling has something to do with that piece of fabric that made me throw up in the first place. That circle had _something _scribbled inside of it, and I'm determined to figure out what the hell it was.

I didn't notice my surroundings until it was too late, and I bumped into a very hard tree nose first. _Ow!_

Naruto's energetic laugh rung out and it left me blushing. Sasuke saw that! I hastily move away from my teammates, my head ducked as to not witness Sasuke's disapproving eyes, but Naruto slung his arm on top of my shoulders and steered me toward the very heart of the Forest of Death, all the while smiling his goofy grin.

I am _so _killing that blonde, or at least I'll leave him inside that serpent when the time comes! Wait, I'd forgotten all about that! Orochimaru's appearance is definitely going to suck, big time. What am I suppose to think now? I'm scared and I don't have my dog and I don't know where Health-Nut is and I'm tired. I don't care how that sounds, I just want to go to sleep.

"Hey, Sky! You're drooping your eyes! Watch out for that rock!" Naruto says while waving his arms in my face.

And I trip over said rock with all the majestic grace of a Brownie. Sasuke cracked a smile, the butt-head.

…

It didn't all happen that quickly. Before anybody even stepped through the metal gates, a squared rock made entirely of carton chased Naruto around a bit…

_I stared. I really don't know why nobody else even glanced their way, but I guess that being a somewhat experienced shinobi, life is bound to be weird. And I mean, downright strange._

_Naruto's hair whizzed as he ran back and forth with the box constantly on his heels. Choo-choo sounds and snorts rung out from within that cardboard "rock" and made me wonder what the heck was inside. Why was it chasing Naruto? Why was it interrupting the second Exam? And, most important of all, who could be stupid enough to believe it was only a rock?_

"_You!" Naruto finally stopped sprinting and turned around to point an accusing finger at the unknown object. "Ya can't fool anyone, believe it!"_

"_Just what I'd thought! Big Brother's intuition is great!" a high-pitched voice came from the box. A bright light shined through the cracks and the cardboard exploded into a cloud of colorful gases. Boom! Bam! Cough!_

_As the smoke cleared out, three figures became visible through the pinks and purples and blues. I remembered them now! _

"_Cough-cough. Too much powder…" Konohamaru chocked out. He continued hacking away his lungs out before he and his lackeys noticed their surroundings. The small, scarfed boy jumped to his feet, all the while clearing his apparently sore throat._

"_I'm Konohamaru! The next greatest ninja Konoha has ever seen!" he said, showing off his missing front teeth in a big smile. He stuck out his thumb and raised his fist towards the sky. Why, that kid could be the triple version of Gai and Lee…_

"_I'm Moegi, the beautiful and strong kunoichi!" twirled the apparent 'Moegi', her orange hair glistening in the day's light. She smirked and posed next to Konohamaru._

"_Udon! Konohamaru's friend!" the last, hunched-back kiddie said. He had a tired face, his glasses reflecting Naruto's bright blue eyes and…snot… hanging loosely from his nose. Straight brown hair, pale complexion, and a way-too-big coat, this Academy boy was the definition of 'young.'_

_I watched in wonder as the trio screamed in unison and looked expectantly at the blonde. Naruto blinked a couple of times before squinting and setting his mouth in a thin line. "Eh, Konohamaru… I'm about to compete in the second part of the Chunnin Exams. What're you guys doing here?"_

_Konohamaru opened his mouth widely, but Anko's angry voice cut whatever wirds he was going to say. "What's going on here?" _

_The kunoichi's purple-ish hair was spiked in the back, her bangs covering a bit of her forehead, which was now throbbing with veins. I looked around to see if any of the other Gennins were noticing this dramatic scene, but to my ever-growing surprise, I found only Sam staring right back at me. She seemed to be3 enjoying Konogamaru's antics, by the way her lips turned up a bit, but she hates little children! Or, so I think…_

_She makes no sense, whatsoever._

_Anyway, Konohamaru responded, "We're here for an interview for the Academy newspaper!"_

"_Oh," Anko shook her head as a smirk slowly creeped into her face. "I'd forgotten all about that. The Hokage mentioned, yes…" She drifted off for a moment, her gray eyes shining with malicious intent. "Yes. To all who'll be interviewed, get your butts here! Otherwise, a ten-minute break is due!" she barked with a powerful voice._

_No one paid her mind, too busy staring off into space or being too caught up into their own little worlds. I gaped a bit, purposely taking longer than normal to gather my thoughts. I'd just moved my right foot slightly, intent on confronting Konohamaru to have my say in all of this, before I felt a cold, bony hand grab my elbow and drag me off to who-knows-where._

_Ah, I missed Heath-nut's blunt approaches…_

…

Remembering the fully-fledged Mexican, I grinned to myself, walking even slower than before. Sasuke shot me an annoyed look, no doubt thinking about my slow pace, but I couldn't bring myself to care. Naruto was yakking his mouth off, talking about something or other involving a certain pinkette, but I was too busy listening to Sam's voice in my mind.

I know I need help with that, but there's not any psychiatric ward to have a look in my head nearby! And I hate loony bins, anyway. Pfft.

"Brownie, I need to talk," Sam had said to me when she'd pulled me into a more reclusive section of the waiting area."There was something in your mouth, no? When you threw up. Tell me what was it."

Her curly hair had blown into my mouth, moved by the strong breeze, and I'd sputtered a bit. "Y-yeah. I guess so… It was a piece of fabric… Hey, I swallowed sand! It tasted awful and it reeked and it was nast-"

"Skylynn. What did it have on it, this…fabric?" Health-nut had asked with a serious look on her face. And I mean serious, as she never said my whole name unless it was something important. I was put out by this because 1.) She meant business 2.)I didn't know why it mattered, and 3.) She meant business.

Samantha meant business as she looked at me straight in the eye with only her lenses and a few inches of air between us. "Um, it was a circle…or an oval…?" I said hopelessly with a shrug. Man, I wasn't observant!

Her outlined eyes widened, a gasp escaping through her narrow mouth, but she explained to me quickly after seeing my suspicious squint. '_Know something I don't, huh? Health-nut…' _I thought.

"Listen. Gaara gave that same cloth to me weeks ago, but I lost it. Then it turned up again a few days ago, but vanished into a sand swirl not long after. I think it turned up in your mouth because Gaara wanted it to. And because he wants to get a message across, I think," she breathed rapidly between words and ran her gaunt fingers through her long hair.

"Wha-" "Don't interrupt me!" she snapped at me and I closed my mouth with a _clank._"That circle had the word 'filled' inside of it, and I don't know what that means. Either Gaara is completely bonkers, or he wants me- wants _us, _since he must've been aware of our friendship to give that to ya- to figure something out. Got me so far?"

I'd nodded mutely, words sticking like glue within my pallet. Too much information at once!

"Good. That is good," Sam mumbled as she turned away. Temari had been looking in our direction, coking her head slightly in apprehension, and she openly questioned my friend as soon as she was a few yards nearer.

"Gaaaaggghhh!" I threw my hands in the air, stopping Naruto's rant at mid-sentence and facing the over loomed tree branches above us. There was no sky visible, no clouds or sun or birds. Nothing but darkness.

"Did I say something wrong?" Naruto questioned Sasuke with a pout on his lips. Sasuke snorted slightly and turned his nose upwards. "That's what I thought too, Teme." Naruto nodded wisely, crossing his arms childishly.

What am I going to do? Figure out the meaning of Gaara's insanity when smarty-pants Sam couldn't? Openly discuss my problems with the closest mosquito bug? Say that the circle was probably something deep, like the life cycle or a freaking black hole?

Oh, I know! How 'bout the circle's a pussy and a symbol of a never-ending sequence? Or, or, that the 'filled' thingy is just that? A key to say that the never-ending shit is always filled? That it's never left out or changed or exaggerated?

That the meaning is just that… meaningless? I'm giving myself a headache. Oh, the joys of over-thinking…

"So that circle and word is the saying 'What comes around, goes around', in a more poetic way…that's _mierda…"_ I mutter under my breath, scaring off the nearest mosquito flying around my head. I'd just told the bug my problem… next thing you know, I'll be sprouting off the answers to Sam's dilemma.

_But maybe, just maybe, Gaara meant to scare off Sam by saying indirectly that he will never change, just as that circle is on-going, filled with a decade of hate…_


	24. Run!

**A/C: Notice to anyone who cares: Viva Naruto World! is being edited. Therefore, updates are going to come slower. Got it? Good. Also, a thank you to Amaranteotaku for staying with us the whole way. You are absolutely the best reason to keep writing, along with your friend, YourAverageJoe.**

**Chapter 24****: Run!**

Not one moment passed without moving. My huffed breaths rapidly inhaling and exhaling. The sprinting and jumping my legs were forced to up reach. The swishing of my skinny arms as they pumped by my sides. Temari's leading this orchestra of motional appendixes that construct my body while Kankuro's behind me, intent to keep us from slowing the pace.

Gaara's here too. I don't know how, I don't know where, and, much less do I know what he plans. Temari must have some idea, since she _is_ the 'captain' of this whole situation. Or maybe she doesn't. No, she can't know.

This Exam is much more different that what I imagined it would be. Television had nothing on the description; the heat, the wild life, the obstructing fear of getting mixed up with feral threats. The competition is near, yet I can't sense them. _I'm afraid…_

I can just about admit I'm a pacifist. I don't like to touch others, hate to fight, loathe the thought of even killing another human being. I'm not Gaara, not Kankuro, not even close to Temari . I can't help but to think I'll be a failure.

_In spite of everything, I give up. _I'd just love to leave, say this whole thing is shit and happily surrender to whoever that will listen of my lack of courage and capacity. I've done it many times, and it wouldn't matter to hear the word "quitter" whispered at me again.

_When the going gets tough, the tough get going. _I'm not saying I was even one of the tough ones in the first place, but when a girl transfers to an entirely different world, all pledge to continue drains slowly away as the minutes tick without answers.

Why was I here? For what reason did I make a fool out of myself by accepting Sunagakure's offer? Couldn't the universe have _transported _another, much more confident girl within its whole, anonymous sick joke?

I can't run as fast as Rock Lee, nor for that long. I'm not stronger than Sakura's fierce punches, even when I kick. My aim is completely off-key to even the sound of Tenten's blown targets. Man, even my stomach shrivels in weakness at the thought of fighting someone like Choji! The grades in my report card tell otherwise, as all of the writing competitions I've won; however, Shikamaru is someone I can't compete with in the intelligence status. _The guy has an IQ of over 200, drat it…_

So what am I good at? Taijustsu is out, seeing as my whole being focuses on not touching others. Ninjutsu? I can conjure up some clones, mange a few replacement jutsus, and, heck, even manage a few chakra currents inside my system to highlight my hearing (say, 'Samantha' really _does_ mean 'the one who listens'!). I haven't tried Genjustu, though, other than the simple puzzle to fool those in the First Exam and evade someone from copying my answers.

Temari suddenly slows, raising her hand to signal she'll stop. If she didn't say anything, then that must mean trouble's ahead; Temari can't help but be bossy and bark commands. I panted only slightly, tired already but fear settling my breaths even. Kankuro placed his gloved hand on my shoulder, his fingers sticking out from the black cloth. He nudged me, a silent order to move quickly.

Almost to the point of not breathing at all, I held my breath as we continued to trudge grimly under the vague, covered sky. A stray branch loomed over my, shaking when a squirrel sped on top of it, its chattering the only sound apart from the rustling of leaves on the area. Sweat dripped from my brow.

Then- "Well, if it isn't just the brats from the Sand. How unlucky to have crossed our path." A voice tasked, his deep tone sending a chills through my warmed body. _This is it_, I thought, _this is where I give up._

"Huh! It's _you_ guys who're the unlucky ones!" Kankuro loosened the bandages that held Karasu, a confident smirk placed solely on his outlined lips. Either he's certain that he could be those guys or he's pretty darn good actor. I voted, hoped really, for the first.

Three figures appeared in front of us, and I only noticed then that we had come to an open, clear space. A battle was due, especially since I recognized the trio from the show; the Rain shinobi. That meant senbons were going to rain. _Great. _

Temari moved faster than I could utter my surrender, her giant fan swishing at the enemies in an instant. The wind stroke hard, sending the goggle-wearing ninja tumbling to his ass. "Grr!" the big one growled, grabbing the ends of the many umbrellas hanging on his back. Kankuro noticed it, and so he smirked even more. "Got a pair of balls, do you?"

Raging with fury, the Big Guy threw up at the sky the umbrellas. I gulped, knowing exactly what was going to happen but too afraid and paralyzed to say anything. Temari ran towards the other shinobi, the one with wide eyes, and the thing that happened next shocked the socks off of me. Not literally, though; I was wearing sandals, for freak's sake!

"Run!" Wind slashed in every direction, the powerful currents cutting the air like knifes, and the Rain Guys stood, their arms protecting their faces for a moment. A moment too late, as when they opened them, we were probably already gone. Kankuro had slung me over his broad shoulder, accidently making me hit my nose with Karasu's thick skull and smudging my glasses with the floating debris.

Temari had already sprinted, a few seconds head-start to fool the other shinobi. Beneath my ribs, I felt Kankuro gasp with effort as we ran away. After a few seconds of non-stopping racing, he hissed through his clenched teeth at me, "I'm gonna throw you down. Keep going."

And throw me down he did. I guess a puppet that weighed half his weight and a girl, even a skinny one, hosted too much energy while keeping up this fast-paced run. I didn't get mad thoug; I was too numb. I simply kept the pace, not hindering nor increasing to catch up to Temari or drop back at Kankuro's side. It was stiflingly awkward, no words being thrashed back or forth in the siblings' usual rants or even a passing squirrel's chatter. Finally, surprisingly, Temari decreased the speed.

"We'll track another team, this time making sure we know what kind of scroll they have," she said. I opened my mouth, about to ask why bother, but then closed it with a snap; I already knew. Gaara hadn't wanted to retreat in the series, and since he wasn't here, there was no need to fight without gathering information first. Kankuro shuffled his feet, something shiny developing on his fist.

"I'll place some chakra stings on the ground, thin enough to be practically invisible to the naked eye but thick enough so I can feel when their cut," he prodded at some leaves with said foot, managing to make a trap out of pure chakra. I asked, "If their cut, how would you feel it. I mean, don't the strings have to be linked to your fingers or whatever?" I didn't bother to conceal my irritation; I wanted to leave!

Kankuro glared at me out of the corner of his eye, too busy to fully squint. "If you must be nosy, I _will_ keep the strings attached to my hands! That's why they'll be long." He nodded to himself and continued, occasionally bending down to support more pressure into a specific spot. I sighed and sat at a nearby trunk, the wood splintering as my butt contacted with it but I didn't care.

Tiny needle-like pieces of wood embedded into my ass would be the least of my problems.


	25. What Those Are Monkeys? My Doggie!

Me- This story has been awaiting chapters for too long! Anyone out there with me, we shall strike together the forces known as ManEatingRaccoons and take their writing skills for what they should be!

Tobi- Strike! Strike! Strike!

Sam- Sky… I'm sorry, but you know I love to write horror and so I uploaded another story because I couldn't resist and what the hell are you going here again, Swirl Face?

Tobi- Tobi likes to be in the disclaimers! Strike!

Me- Yes! And now hurry up and write, woman! Strike!

Sam- (Groans) Whatever… This story is going to be so long…

**Chapter 25: What? Those Are Monkeys? My Doggy!**

Sam has always told me I was going to die, sooner rather than later, but I hadn't yet because of sheer dumb luck. Something about my stupidity and whatnot. Whatnot. Doesn't that sound like snot to you? Sam comes up with the weirdest of words most of the time…

An example of this would be when we were at a zoo (visit paid kindly by Sam's mother) and I kept trying to reach out and touch the monkey's cage. There was a neon yellow band that separated the spectator's place and the metal itself by a couple of feet, but I hadn't paid much attention to it. Y'see, restrictions aren't really in my vocabulary. That's Sam's area of many general terms.

The curly-haired girl kept glancing amusedly at my stretched form, chuckling under her breath every time I lost balance and almost fell face-first on the ground. I hadn't paid much attention to her either. The only thing on my mind was touching that cage!

Although why I wanted to feel those rusty-looking bars is beyond me. I wouldn't ask about it. This went on for about maybe a couple of unsuccessful minutes before it, like all good things, got interrupted.

Unfortunately, her parents had come back from bird-gazing and caught me red-handed. Her brother started lecturing me about animal safety and Sam busted out laughing. And I mean, she cackled! There are few the opportunities in which you see a Health-Nut smile like that. Don't tell her this, but that's one of my most precious memories! If only I'd had a camera…

Anyway, after I'd finally escaped from the grasp of the hear-like-sermon, Sam told me these exact words (or something along those lines! My memory's not perfect, damn it!): "_One day, a monkey will take revenge on you for putting up such lousy comedy performance in front of its cousins. Then, I'll just stand by and watch you get literally numbskulled by flying bananas thrown at ya."_

Sighs. My friend's so nice and thoughtful, isn't she? But enough about her! The only reason of why I've told you such thing is because Sam's prediction came true! Kind of.

"Oi! Skylynn! Quit thinking 'bout yourself and all and start running faster!"

"Gah! Shut up, Naruto, or I'll bash your head in!"

Yes. That's right. Monkeys were chasing us and Naruto and I got stuck with each other. Joy to the world. Except that these guys weren't _really_ monkeys, but the way they jumped from branch to branch! It was like a well-practiced dance. Step here, crouch, impact. Then _fly!_

I'm pretty sure that if the sound shinobi ever had tails, they'd make perfectly good monkeys.

"Damn!" I heard Naruto curse from my right. Sasuke had separated from us quite a while ago, just after a _huge_ snake appeared and bit off a big portion of the Forest of Death. The reptile will possibly have a stummy ache, just after Sasuke beats its ass, of course!

Yes. Try saying it with me. Stummy ache. It's a combination of 'stomach' and 'tummy', discovered unintentionally by Sam's tangled and heavily-accented speech problems when she talks too fast.

"Damn it!" Naruto yelled again and I had no choice but to take a quick glance at him and his bleeding-_whoa_! Since when did his leg get so cut up! I need to improve my observant skills…

"When the heck did that happen to you?" I voiced my thoughts rather loudly, gesturing briefly with my flaying hand at the fleshy gash on his calf. The Monkeys behind us stepped up the pace. I know this because I felt a tip of a kunai graze said flying hand. They certainly weren't throwing bananas at me. "Eep!" I meeped.

Pause. Then-"Listen! When I say 'go' you get the hell away from here. Find Sasuke and wait for me later. Got it?" Naruto hurryingly whispered as well as he could to me while trying not to fall behind with his injured leg. I stared bewildered at him, sputtering gibberish not even I could begin to understand, but it wasn't like he listening anyhow.

Naruto gritted his teeth and flared his nostrils, and he just about looked like a charging bull, with a serious expression stamped on his usually care-free mask. He bent his knees and nodded to himself, all just before springing up into the air and landing with a thunk on one of the tallest branches I could see. _Since when did he jump so high?_ I wondered as I stared some more. The orange-suited ninja smirked and called out cheekily at the Sound, "Bet ya can't catch me, dattebayo!"

The turtle shell guy stopped dead on a fallen tree trunk, Dosu I think his name was, and he stared hard at Naruto, cocking his bandaged-head for a second. The other Monkeys, Kin and…and -I forgot his name!- the palm-blowing guy landed softly beside him. Naruto grinned again, his pain miraculously vanishing from his wound, and then he did something I'll forever respect and looked up to from this moment on.

Naruto totally flipped the Monkeys off.

"You arrogant brat!" Zaku, whose name I suddenly remembered, roared at the blonde. Dosu had to use both hands to settle the guy down as he whispered something in his ear. Kin smiled at me, but it didn't really feel reassuring. Yeah… not reassuring at all…

"Yeah, yeah. Slowpokes!" And with those final words Naruto sprinted as fast as he probably could, going out of my sight amazingly quickly. The three ninjas, still perched on the trunk like a trio of birds, blinked surprised (cough-stupidly) at the turn of events, but then they got a hold of their pricky selves and began to move towards me. I backed away slowly, cursing just as Naruto had, and them some. "The girl isn't a threat to Orochimaru-sama's plans. She's weak," Dosu said. Kin continued smiling. Zaku just stood there, but that was enough to freak me out.

And then earlier than I could properly scream, they left me too. Untouched and mostly unharmed. Going after Naruto, I guess.

I ungracefully fell on my ass, succumbing to the trembling of my legs, and I gasped while trying to catch my breath. It was too much. Okay? Mentally going on a break down here! What am I supposed to do now? Naruto, you're an idiot! Why'd you leave me here! I'm so confused!

There must be something I could have done. Right? Right? I'm no weaker than Sakura! I puffed out my cheeks and heard Sam's voice in my head, "_Get over it, Brownie. Don't be such a wuss."_

But the problem was that I loved being a wuss. It was generally so much easier letting someone else, in this case a certain whiskered boy, do the work than trying to combat the Monkeys myself! Eh… Well, maybe not 'generally'. It's hard being brave!

Today isn't my day. At all.

**OoOoOoOoOo**

It's been a couple of minutes since Naruto and the others left. I'm still alone, but now I've got a bad case of The Boredom.

What? You don't know? The Boredom is a common disease among us Brownies, one that if left unattended could get quickly out of hand. Like, as in mortally and precariously out of hand. How? Don't ask so many questions. It's annoying.

I'm lying on my back extremely uncomfortably. There's a rock wedged under me, I'm sure of it, but I'm too lazy to move. Too tired to care. Too angry of being a human.

I idly watched a beetle crawl its way up my arm. Its round and black and seemingly polished. I wonder how something that never takes a bath could be so shiny. The tiny black dots I take for its eyes stare up at me without moving, but all I ever do is gaze back. I feel its hairy legs on top of my shoulder now, but I still don't react. This is a game, y'see. The first one to drop and roll looses.

"Hey there, you miniscule little freak of nature," I say to it. The beetle doesn't answer back. Why doesn't it want to talk to me? "Are you planning on leaving me alone too? You bugs are so lucky. Not having to worry about anything and just living your short lives comfortably inside some crap ball. You wouldn't understand that I have a responsibility. You know nothing, do you?" It still doesn't answer. Why…?

Suddenly, I'm sitting up and carelessly brushing off the beetle. "You don't even know what I'm saying! It's like, you don't even have a brain! What would you know about loyalty, eh? About comradeship and the sense of duty? Eh? Nothing. You know nothing, 'cause you're not supposed to know nothing, you stinky little animal!"

I know the beetle hasn't done anything to me, but I can't help but be angry at it. It's mocking me! Saying its better than me, all because it didn't screw up, all because it's not throwing friendship to the ground and kicking it senseless by ignoring its only job. I'm doing it; I'm the one who's in deep bullshit! What would a stupid beetle have anything to do with-with _everything?_

And then I step on the bug. I hear the crunch of the exoskeleton as the little creature breaks, and I imagine its agonizingly shrilly screams. 'It wasn't my fault!' it'd yell. 'Don't kill me! Please!'

I'd ignored them.

"Oh, my God." I don't like myself all that much now. "What the fuck did I just do?"

As fast as I'm able, I remove my foot from the spot where the beetle had fallen to. Leaves crack as do some stray sticks, but all I'm scanning for is the tiny body. "I'm so sorry, please don't be dead!" But it's too late.

Time stops for a second only to resume again. I hear a bush rattle. Some bird just sings. A squirrel begins to chatter. And they don't care that a bug is dead. That I simply murdered it… just for the sake of it. I lift my leg up, oh so slowly, and there it is; under the sole of my right foot, and it looks like it was a blackberry which got too squished.

I want to cry so badly. Bawl my eyes out and then rip my feet off. I want to give the beetle its life back, apologize and make it all better. I want to tell Naruto that I think he's the most admirable person I've ever met, placing himself as bait when he's so hurt, and I want to give Sasuke a thumbs up when I see him next, saying to him that I did a good job. But most of all, I want to make sure I get stronger. Just so I could protect Naruto instead of having him protect me. Just so I can get Sasuke to smile at me, just a little!

I want to see Sam smirking in that wonderful sarcastic way of hers and tell me that she's proud to know me.

"I'm going to get myself killed, little buggy, but don't you worry. I'll find a good place to bury you first," I tell the disfigured beetle. Untying my sandals isn't normally too hard for me, but I have to be careful not to hurt the tiny body any longer. I pinch the strap on the middle of my ankle and nod in satisfaction when it clicks.

Then I place it facing upwards and start digging. I won't use the sticks I noticed earlier on the ground; I want to do it with my bare hands. The soil isn't soft by any chance, but I keep scratching the ground in attempt to remove the dirt. So far, the only thing I'm accomplishing is caking the underside of my fingernails. I dig harder. And I see red on the ground. My fingers are starting to bleed… No matter!

My pants are the only thing I hear. I should be getting to Sasuke, like Naruto told me, but I can't yet. I owe the beetle more than that. God, this is hard…

Sniff. Wiping. I need a tissue, people, 'cause I'm beginning to sob. Fingers hurt, but I can't complain. Wait, aren't I complaining now? This is stupid. No, wait again! It's not! I'm over thinking… How do I get stronger? A sheer force of will? Some genuine struck of luck? What about- Ack!

"What in the name of- Sombra?" There he was, in his mightiness, in his remarkableness, in his- "Stop licking me already, you mutt!"

Sombra's form lifts up from my shoulders and I groan as I get up from the hole, which I'd fallen in. Sombra had tackled me, Neji-ass style, and attacked my defenseless ear with his truly unique length-a-tongue!

I'm sorry; I shouldn't be making jokes. Got a beetle to funeral-ize…

"Oi, Sombra. How'd you get here, anyway? I thought the scary Anko woman wouldn't let you in…" I told the gray lump as he wagged his furry tail beside me. My fingers are going numb. I'm not sure if that's good.

_Bark._ "Shush, doggie! If the enemy hears you we'll be lucky if we get to the bottom of this pityingly-shallow hole alive!" Sombra ignores me and continues to bark. I wonder if he has a brain. Then I scratch the dirt harder and wonder if_ I_ have one…

A few seconds pass and I throw some of my bloody-soil at the still-making-noises canine. Would he shut up already! My survival chances will get slimmer here! Hello? Anybody but Sombra out there? I'm going crazy again. Loca. Ugh.

Then I feel a breath on my ear. OhMyGodthere''msogoingtodiehelp! This is the end, oh cruel world! Tell anyone who'll listen to you that I was young and beautiful and left this place filled with regrets and- that's Sombra.

I feel stupid now.

My dog had sat u from somewhere near my scabby knee and started…digging. I felt his warm-ish pelt blend against my skin and I saw his claws beat upon the ground and I'm scaring myself again 'cause I sound like a freaking bad poet! "Sombra?"

"Let me help you, girlie!" a gruff voice grunted. "W-who the hell said that?" I stood up but no one answered. This is like a badly-told horror movie, but all the scenes keep changing and forming and, I don't know, _reforming!_

"Down here, girlie!"

My neck cracked. Why? I think Sombra just talked…

Rubbing my eyes and making them puffy with all the shit that was on the forest floor, I then squinted at my dog. He glanced up at me and. And. I think he smiled.

I mean, a lifting of the upper lip- or snout?- and a show of not-quite pearly white fangs is classed as a smile. I think. I guess. Sombra's an illusion. A hallucination made by my own demented mind. I think. I guess.

"Did you just talk?" I blurt out. My hand flies out and slaps my big mouth afterwards. If I talked to something not real then that meant I was even more senile than I already was by dreaming it up!

"Yeah? What's it to ya? I'm saying, my tongue os rolling and words are dripping out with my saliva, so yeah, I'm talking!" Sombra says to me giddily as he continued to dig. He's giddy. He's happy. I'm scared.

Oh God. I feel a piss coming. I'm going to wet my pants if somebody doesn't do anything about that speech-making _dog._ I studied science at my old school. All animals, except humans of course, are not supposed to speak! Maybe make sounds, yeah, like chattering or mimicking, but not actual… not actual… _conversation!_

I once heard a parakeet talk. It squeaked at me to 'fuck off'. But this is so much weirder.

"There! All done!" the Dog yapped. A little squirt of urine soaked my panties. "So, boss, what'cha gonna do with the hole?"

I wordlessly pointed to my abandoned sandal. "Grave," I rasped. Sombra barked an 'Okay!' and ran off to fetch the foot-accessory. I couldn't make out the phrase "Be careful with that, you mongrel!" but I _did_ think it. That must count for something.

Sombra dropped the sandal in the hole and moved some of the dirt around it on top of the beetle. Then he patted it down with a paw. "Where we going next?" he asked excitedly, circling a spot and beginning to chase his gray tail.

I felt the ground under me tremble, but that could've been the shivers that ran up my body. I am officially insane. Step down, Sabaku no Gaara; I just took the biggest bite out of _that _cake. "Boss?"

I distinctly mumbled something back to Sombra, but I didn't really listen to my own response. The tree in front of me was fading. Like a ghost. This isn't the Forest of Death! This is the Fucking Haunted Woodland. Then the tree completely went black, and I passed out on top of the tiny, dead buggie's grave.

I think. Frankly, I'm not even sure any of that happened. I just went to sleep. Period.


	26. Author's Note

Author's Note =/

Hello readers! I'm sorry, but this isn't an update T.T You see, the main author for this story (my best friend) has not contacted me since August. The reasons are personal, but nonetheless, I planned on leaving this discontinued, but I can't T.T However, our writing styles are very different, and writing from her characters PoV will be extremely challenging for me. Although I do plan on continuing, please don't be disappointed if it doesn't meet your expectations.

~Your very sorry author T.T


End file.
